OSCE, EU and UN Co-Chairs of Geneva Discussions issue statement
GENEVA, 18 May 2009 - The Co-Chairs of the Geneva Discussions - the UN, OSCE and EU - issued the following statement today:
"The Co-Chairs strongly regret the walk-out by the Russian participants at the beginning of the fifth session of the Geneva Discussions today, after the Abkhaz participants decided not to attend and after the walk-out of the South Ossetian participants.
This was all the more regrettable as today's discussions were precisely meant to offer an opportunity to listen to the views of all participants on all security-related and humanitarian questions as called for by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1866 of 13 February 2009.
The Co-Chairs are working for the resumption of discussions tomorrow morning, 19 May, as planned, and call upon all participants to be present.
The Geneva Discussions provide the only forum where all participants can engage with one another on the key issues of security and stability as well as humanitarian questions."