HIGHLIGHTS OF PRESS CONFERENCE BY THREE CO-CHAIRS OF THE GENEVA INTERNATIONAL DISCUSSIONS FOLLOWING THE SEVENTEENTH ROUND

The three Co-Chairs of the Geneva International Discussions, Philippe Lefort, European Union Special Representative for the South Caucasus and for the crisis in Georgia; Antti Turunen, United Nations Representative to the Geneva International Discussions and the Joint Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism; and Giedrius Cekuolis, Special Envoy of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Chairperson-in-Office, held a press conference at the Palais des Nations this afternoon following the seventeenth round of the Geneva International Discussions.

Reading out their joint press communiqué, Mr. Lefort said that the participants of the Geneva International Discussions had just completed their seventeenth session. In Working Group I, the participants had reviewed the security situation on the ground and welcomed the fact that the general situation had been calm and stable during the period after the previous round. The participants had continued to address the issue of non-use of force and international security arrangements. The Co-Chairs had underlined that, despite the fundamental differences and divergent opinions, efforts should be undertaken in order to make progress towards better security and stability on the ground, through interim steps and concrete measures. The value of confidence-building had been highlighted.

In Working Group II, the participants had reviewed the various aspects of the situation on the ground, including the situation of vulnerable populations and various specific humanitarian issues. The discussions had benefitted from comprehensive briefings from all participants on humanitarian activities undertaken and had identified specific directions for follow-up. Participants had been given the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the various aspects of confidence-building measures during an information session on the subject.

The participants had agreed to hold their next session on 14 December 2011.

Making additional comments, Mr. Lefort said that he was delighted to be here for the first time and that he was firmly resolved to continue the excellent work done by his predecessor, Pierre Morel. The seventeenth round of the Geneva International Discussions had been most interesting. There had been a good working atmosphere, participants had gone through the usual agenda and discussed matters of concern to them. There had been an exchange of ideas on many important subjects, including on international security arrangements.

In the context of Working Group I, fresh proposals on security assurances had been heard and other views and ideas on that subject had been discussed. Participants had also been able to discuss suggestions made earlier by the Co-Chairs on specific steps towards a transitional security regime and the means to achieve that objective. This was a question about which the participants were still broadly divided but efforts continued. The work was not finished, it was ongoing. The Co-Chairs had called on the participants to build an atmosphere of confidence.

Working Group II had held a substantive discussion on humanitarian issues. Elements which had been on the agenda since the very outset had been discussed, including the subject of disappeared persons, and an information session on confidence-building measures had been held, which was of utmost importance to all participants, including the Co-Chairs.

Mr. Turunen said that this month marked the third anniversary of the Geneva International Discussions and, in spite of the difficult agenda, there was a commitment to continuing the discussions. The atmosphere today had been very good and business-like, which gave hope for future discussions. The period since the previous round of discussions had been calm with a relatively stable situation on the ground, and he was happy that this had provided an opportunity for building trust and confidence among participants. That was the way forward to start the possibility of further confidence-building measures. What they could start to look into were possibilities to consider measures in the fight against crime, for example, and confidence-building measures in the economic and social spheres. What was most important was to mobilise participants’ political will and to continue in the same attitude as today in order to avoid an escalation of the conflict.

Mr. Cekuolis said that he subscribed to everything that had been said by his counterparts. He would like to emphasize several aspects from the point of view of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe: Firstly, the issue of non-use of force, as had been said, continued to be the main stumbling block in the discussions. The common goal must be the development of confidence and security-building measures which could strengthen confidence in the security sphere in the absence of commitments on non-use of force from all sides. All understood that they could not live in a security vacuum. Otherwise the security situation could spin out of control again and the consequences could be disastrous. Thus, they were constantly encouraging all stakeholders to come up with creative proposals on how to improve the security situation on the ground and to establish confidence.

Regarding the solution of security issues on the ground Mr. Cekuolis said that he could not resist emphasising the importance of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanisms in this particular sphere. As he was chairing the Ergneti/Dvani Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism meetings, he could tell with full confidence that this engine of the Geneva International Discussions was functioning as a “Swiss watch” in dealing with issues of detainees or providing security guarantees for local farmers. He hoped that these discussions could materialise with time to the broader agreement on freedom of movement across the division line, thus easing the daily life of the local community.

Mr. Cekuolis said that, last but not least, he would like to make several remarks inspired by the discussions held yesterday during the information session with regards to the importance of the development of confidence-building at the community or grassroots level. As Chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Lithuania was committed to strengthening the efforts of the organization in addressing the consequences of the conflict, including urgent humanitarian issues such as the restoration of water and gas supplies. They were also committed to further develop, on the ground, various confidence-building measure type projects on both sides of the division line, with the involvement of local societies and non-governmental organizations. But, these ideas could be materialised and implemented only through constructive cooperation from all stakeholders. Conflicts could not be solved without involvement of the societies and building the trust at the grassroots level.

Questions and Answers

Responding to a question as to what new proposals had been made in Working Group I, Mr. Lefort said that the main proposal had been a follow-up on the statement made by Mr. Lavrov last Friday. He would not comment on that proposal, but it could be said safely that it had been discussed and that it had given rise to a number of comments. At this stage of security guarantees there was no consensus but the Co-Chairs would continue to seek that the participants spoke with one voice in the context of the proposals which had already been made, in particular the five-step plan.