Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Talks Situation In South Caucasus With OSCE Envoy - Moscow

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko on Friday discussed the situation in the South Caucasus region in a phone conversation with Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Special Representative Annika Soder, the Russian Foreign Ministry said

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd January, 2021) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko on Friday discussed the situation in the South Caucasus region in a phone conversation with Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Special Representative Annika Soder, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"They had an in-depth conversation on the security in South Caucasus. They confirmed the importance of the Geneva discussions as the sole multilateral platform for maintaining the direct dialogue between Abkhazia, Georgia and South Ossetia, which contributes to lowering tensions in the 'triangle' of Sokhumi-Tbilisi-Tskhinvali," the ministry said in a statement.

The sides expressed interest in the uninterrupted work of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism in the Georgian town of Ergneti at the border with South Ossetia and the resumption of a similar mechanism in Abkhazia's Gali.

On the night of August 8, 2008, Georgia fired rockets at South Ossetia with the Georgian armed forces attacking the republic and destroying a part of its capital, Tskhinval. To defend South Ossetians, many of whom had Russian passports, Moscow deployed its forces and routed Georgian troops from the country in five days.

On August 26, 2008, Russia recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The Russian leadership, on multiple occasions, stressed that the decision reflects reality and will not be reversed. Meanwhile, Tbilisi keeps refusing to recognize the independence of the two countries.