U.S. Statement on the 26th Round of Geneva International Discussions on the Conflict in Georgia
U.S. Statement on the 26th Round of Geneva International Discussions on the Conflict in Georgia
Geneva, December 18, 2013
The United States joined the twenty-sixth round of Geneva International Discussions on the conflict in Georgia December 17-18. We welcomed the recent absence of violence along the administrative boundary lines but reaffirmed our view that the physical barriers installed along them negatively impact Georgia’s territorial integrity as well as the lives and livelihoods of adjacent populations, and called for these barriers to be removed. We expressed our deep appreciation for the leadership of outgoing European Union (EU) Special Representative Philippe Lefort and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Special Representative Andrii Deshchytsia, and welcomed the new representative of the incoming Swiss OSCE Chairmanship, Angelo Gnaedinger, to the process. We appreciate the continued leadership of the United Nations, the EU, and the OSCE as Co-Chairs of the Geneva International Discussions, which continue to provide a vitally important platform for negotiations aimed at addressing the humanitarian situation on the ground and ensuring peace and security in the region.