Russia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia Discuss Expanding Cooperation

Dragon Media News Desk

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held separate bilateral meetings and a trilateral meeting in Moscow on October 1 with Oleg Bartsits, Foreign Minister of Abkhazia, and Akhsar Dzhioev, Acting Foreign Minister of South Ossetia.

Lavrov thanked the authorities of Abkhazia and South Ossetia for helping organise voting for Russian citizens living in the two republics in elections to the ninth convocation of the Russian State Duma.

The three sides reaffirmed their commitment to deepening their allied relations. They focused on implementing directives issued by the presidents of Russia and Abkhazia, and Russia and South Ossetia, following their meetings, including the bilateral talks held in Moscow on May 9.

The separate ministerial consultations addressed the implementation of joint projects in various fields, the expansion of the legal framework for bilateral relations and coordination of foreign policy. Particular attention was given to strengthening the two republics’ standing on the international stage, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

During the trilateral meeting, the ministers discussed global and regional issues of mutual interest. They supported maintaining regular direct dialogue among Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Georgia within the International Discussions on Security and Stability in the South Caucasus.

The ministers also discussed ways to advance shared priorities through the negotiating mechanism. These included reaching an agreement on guarantees of the non-use of force between Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and launching a process to formalise the borders between Georgia and its neighbours under international law.

The talks reaffirmed the high level of mutual understanding and trust between Moscow, Sukhum and Tskhinval and contributed to further expanding cooperation, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.