OSCE Chairmanship concerned about closure of crossing points, stresses negative implications for local population

VIENNA, 7 March 2017 - Reacting on the closure of two crossing points along the Administrative Boundary Line of Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia, Nabakevi-Khurcha and Meore Otobaia-Orsantia, which reduces the number of crossing points to two, following the closure of two others in 2016, a spokesperson of the OSCE Chairmanship said today:

“We have closely followed the latest developments on the ground. We believe this decision has a number of negative consequences, in particular concerning the freedom of movement of the population on both sides of the Administrative Boundary Line. We therefore call for meaningful dialogue as well as swift and pragmatic solutions, in order to avoid further repercussions for the local population’s everyday life.”

The spokesperson emphasized the importance of the Geneva International Discussions and the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism meetings as platforms for constructive engagement. These are respectively co-chaired and co-facilitated by the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus, Ambassador Günther Bächler.