GENEVA, December 12. /TASS/. Participants in the International Geneva Discussions on Security and Stability in the South Caucasus have touched upon NATO’s presence in the region, which serves as an additional factor of instability, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said in an interview with TASS.
"The NATO issue was touched upon in connection with our warnings about dangers coming from such activities in the border region, which makes the parties nervous and creates an additional factor of instability," he emphasized.
When speaking about the outcome of talks, the senior Russian diplomat pointed to a lack of progress. "However, restrictions have been eased at checkpoints along the border between South Ossetia and Georgia, including the Razdakhan point, where South Ossetians allow Georgian nationals living in the Leninogorsky district visit Georgia for humanitarian purposes, first and foremost, medical ones. It gives rise to hopes that this practice will cover other checkpoints and help ease tensions," he added.
Rudenko was regretful that the meeting’s participants had failed to resolve issues related to restoring the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism. "Another problem is that talks took place amid developments in Tbilisi, where protests continue," he noted.
The 50th round of the Geneva Discussions was held on December 10-11. It remains the only platform for dialogue between Georgia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, based on agreements reached by the presidents of Russia and France following the August 2008 armed conflict.