HIGHLIGHTS OF PRESS CONFERENCE AFTER FIRST SESSION OF INTERNATIONAL DISCUSSIONS ON GEORGIA IN GENEVA

Pierre Morel, Special Representative of the European Union for the crisis in Georgia, speaking at the end of first session of the international discussions in Geneva on Georgia, said today they started the process of international discussions in Geneva on Georgia. The European Union, the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe were fully engaged in the development of this process. He stressed that all the participants expected for the discussions came to Geneva and showed their willingness to engage in this process and all the participants expressed their point of view.

Today, Mr. Morel said, they had encountered procedural difficulties. For this reason, they had decided, together, to suspend this afternoon's scheduled meetings. Their goal was to resume the discussions in Geneva next month. The next meeting of the Geneva discussions would take place on 18 November 2008.

Assessing this first day, Mr. Morel said: "the process has started". They remained fully engaged in the full implementation of the 6 points of the 12 August Agreement and of the 8 September Complementary Agreement.

Answering a journalist's question on what the procedural difficulties were, Mr. Morel said that there were always difficulties when starting such a process. Taking into account the sensitivities and the positions of principles, one had to use different formulas in order to allow everyone to express itself. This had been possible this morning. At the same time, the development of these formulas needed further consultations. Thus they would, as a second step, further discuss the procedural matters at the next meeting. They remained open to all possible working methods. There was still work needed and they were fully engaged. Mr. Morel noted that there was a formal and an informal dimension to the talks and that there were problems of status and formats.

Johan Verbeke, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia, said they should not dramatize what happened today. All the participants were present yesterday and today and all expressed their views. All acted in a responsible way. This was clearly a process in which they engaged. "What happened is what we call in French, un incident de parcours, a procedural incident, which had to be resolved". Rather than doing a quick-fix which would leave them with other problems later in the day, he said they decided to address them and that was why they decided to take some breathing space to address those few procedural points which would be handled through consultations. This was a temporary suspension of the work.

Heikki Talvitie, Special Envoy of the Chairman in Office at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said all three organizations were in the region and there was a clear commitment from these organizations to get the process of conflict resolution started. "We have done it today. That is quite evident. We have encountered difficulties. This is also a fact. We already knew beforehand that this process is not going to be a very easy one."

Answering a journalist who asked whether there had been any face-to-face negotiations between Russians and Georgians, Mr. Morel said that what had happened today were discussions, not an international conference. The co-presidency was not driving the work but acted as a facilitator. The criterion for today had been to facilitate the discussions. They had not planned to go into negotiations it was important that everyone first talked to each other, expressed their viewpoints, listened to others and took into account all components for the next steps of the process. Their framework for the consultations was the Agreement of 12 August. On this basis they had had multiple exchanges, official ones and unofficial ones since this morning until early in the afternoon, said Mr. Morel. Through the various formal and informal sessions and the contacts that had been made, they had been able to agree to meet again. All parties that had been present today recognized the same basis for the talk, the Agreements of 12 August and 8 September. The appointment that had been set on 8 September has been kept and the follow-up was launched, said Mr. Morel.

Mr. Talvitie added that when they spoke about these discussions, the aim was already a very practical one. They would like to enhance the stability in the region and they would like to enhance the humanitarian situation in the region. For this purpose, it was really important for them to find ways and means for everyone to express their views. These were not negotiations, these were discussions. In some way, in the future, there should be a kind of an understanding that they could agree on some measures in the region to help the situation there.

Answering another question on whether all participants had been present in the same room or not, Mr. Morel said that some of today's meetings had been formal and informal, and as a result everyone had been able to express itself. Thus elements to launch the discussions had been brought together. The formulas used for this first session had been necessary for a first gathering but they were not sufficient to go on today. They thus needed to consult further.

Responding to a question on the lack of clarity on the part of the facilitators, while delegations had been more straightforward in their comments, Mr. Morel said that there had been possibilities for contacts and today's goals had been to create the conditions to come to an agreement. They had been able to have useful exchanges today. There had been difficulties but they where at work to resolve them. Further, if everyone had agreed to come back on a specific date, it meant that nobody saw a reason to stop here.

Mr. Verbeke said there was a fundamental distinction between the facilitators and the parties. Whatever the parties said was their full right and responsibility to communicate to journalists. The facilitators had a specific responsibility as regards the very integrity of the process. As Ambassador Morel said, they must look to the future and must address any problem that was raised. Whether some qualified them as a minor problem or a major problem, that was for them to qualify. Whether some qualified them as a legitimate problem or an illegitimate problem, it was for them to qualify. The facilitators were there to solve the problems as they arose and that was what they were trying to do.

Answering a question on what was the reaction of Presidents Medvedev and Sarkozy on today's work, Mr. Morel said that it was too early to tell. Their next step would be to submit their detailed reports to their respective chiefs. Summarizing this first session he said that it had been a difficult but important one.