Geneva Discussions must continue and deliver progress for the sake of those affected, says OSCE Chairmanship official

VIENNA, 22 July 2011 – Participants in the Geneva Discussions must do their part to make the talks effective as the Discussions remain the only forum where all parties to the August 2008 conflict are represented, Ambassador Giedrius Čekuolis, Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for protracted conflicts, said today.

Čekuolis co-chairs the Geneva Discussions together with Ambassador Antti Turunen of the UN and Ambassador Pierre Morel of the EU. The three addressed a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council today.

Referring to those who suffer from the conflict’s aftermath, Čekuolis said: “These people want to see progress, want to see tangible deliverables,”

“The responsibility for giving the Geneva process direction does not lie exclusively with the Co-Chairs. It is a shared commitment by all participants. We can only make progress if all of us, collectively, agree to do so.”

Lithuania’s OSCE Chairmanship strives to be an impartial mediator and honest broker to “bring the positions closer, develop a common political will, and build consensus that would eventually lead to the peaceful resolution of all disputes and disagreements,” Čekuolis said.

The three Co-Chairs have called on all participants to consolidate progress made regarding non-use of force by also engaging on the issue of international security arrangements, as well as by supporting a number of practical confidence-building measures.

Turunen emphasized the intensive co-operation between the OSCE, the EU and the UN in jointly leading the Geneva Discussions and in leading the respective joint Incident Prevention and Response Mechanisms, facilitating post-conflict political dialogue. He also urged all participants of the Discussions to harness their political will to find commonly acceptable solutions to the open issues in the process.

Morel underlined the need for continued efforts toward a transitional security regime by building on existing practice and consolidated commitments by the participants.

Čekuolis said that a constructive atmosphere and an increased pragmatism prevailed during the Ergneti/Dvani Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism meetings, which he has jointly co-facilitated with the EU Monitoring Mission.

There have been steps in the right direction, Čekuolis said. He highlighted the restoration of irrigation water supplies and the start of work to restore supplies of potable water as “a very practical illustration of what the Geneva Discussions can achieve when stakeholders choose pragmatism over posturing.”

Čekuolis said the Lithuanian OSCE Chairmanship was considering how the OSCE could broaden its work to address humanitarian issues on the ground.

He also expressed hope that an agreement would be reached soon to enable the OSCE to have a Vienna-based Support Team, saying this would strengthen the Organization’s role and fill a vacuum that emerged after the OSCE Mission to Georgia was closed due to a lack of consensus on its mandate at the end of 2008.