OSCE Chairperson-in-Office’s Special Representative for the South Caucasus concludes official visit to Georgia

The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus, Ambassador Christoph Späti, concluded his visit to Georgia from 31 March to 7 April 2025. In addition to co-facilitating the 124th Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) in Ergneti, he met with local and international partners, and participated in field visits.

Throughout his visit, Ambassador Späti emphasized the OSCE’s ongoing efforts to address the conflict in Georgia, in particular through his role in the Geneva International Discussions, co-chaired with the European Union and the United Nations. The domestic situation in Georgia featured throughout meetings Ambassador Späti held as a representative of the Finnish OSCE Chairpersonship. He noted the crucial role women and civil society play towards peace and stability.

In addition to the IPRM meeting, the Special Representative participated in a technical meeting on water irrigation on 31 March and inspected the water infrastructure along the administrative boundary line (ABL), an initiative supported by the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM). He also visited the Odzisi crossing point, OSCE-supported water and humanitarian projects in the area, met with conflict-affected people in Shida Kartli and exchanged views with local authorities and civil society.    

In Tbilisi, Ambassador Späti met with State Minister Tea Akhvlediani, as well as officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the State Ministry for Reconciliation and Civic Equality. Their discussions focused on the current situation on the ground and the persisting consequences of the 2008 armed conflict.

The Special Representative highlighted the importance of an inclusive approach to conflict resolution and confidence-building, underlining the need for an environment that enables the unreplaceable contribution by civil society actors in efforts towards peace and dialogue.

The Special Representative met representatives of the diplomatic community, international organisations, and civil society representatives. He also met with officials dealing with missing persons, national minority integration, and exchanged with minority representatives in the Kakheti region.