Ambassador Gnaedinger, OSCE Special Representative for South Caucasus, co-chairs 27th round of Geneva International Discussions

GENEVA, 26 March 2014 - Ambassador Angelo Gnaedinger, the Special Representative of the Swiss OSCE Chairmanship for the South Caucasus, for the first time in his new role, participated in the Geneva International Discussions on 25-26 March 2014, co-chairing the meeting together with EU and UN .

The Co-Chairs welcomed the relatively stable and calm situation that had prevailed since the previous round of the Discussions in December 2013. However, they noted with concern the resumption of the installation of fences and other obstacles at different locations along the Administrative Boundary lines, as well as alleged airspace violations. The Co-Chairs called on all participants to ensure that all these developments are addressed within the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanisms (IPRM) with the aim of finding proper solutions to arising problems.

While welcoming the continued constructive engagement within the Ergneti IPRM, the Co-Chairs reiterated their call on respective participants to resume the suspended Gali IPRM.

An expert drafting session was reconvened on a joint statement by participants of the Geneva International Discussions on the non-use of force, in which certain progress was registered. The participants agreed to continue working on the draft statement at the next round of the Geneva International Discussions.

In Working Group II, the participants reviewed the humanitarian situation on the ground. Participants once again expressed concern about the humanitarian problems affecting the daily lives of the local population. They exchanged views on pragmatic solutions for the freedom of movement and opportunities for travel, on cultural heritage as well as on the supply of irrigation water. Furthermore, they addressed the issues of missing persons, detainees and displaced persons.

On 25 March, participants attended an information session on "Public Health Issues".
 
The participants agreed to hold the next round of Geneva International Discussions on 17-18 June 2014.