S. Caucasus security talks to be held July 14 - Georgia ministry
13:4902/07/2009 TBILISI, July 2 (RIA Novosti) - A meeting to develop a system to prevent incidents in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict zone is to be held on July 14 in Gali, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
The meeting was agreed on Wednesday at the latest round of Geneva talks on the South Caucasus.
Representatives from Russia, Abkhazia and Georgia are expected to attend the session along with delegates from international organizations, the ministry said, adding that it had not been decided yet who would be attending from Georgia.
The talks on Wednesday focused on changes in the format of the Geneva consultations, following the withdrawal of the UN and OSCE missions from the region, which was involved in a five-day war between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia last August.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry welcomed the fact that "serious discussions" had begun at the talks on deploying international peacekeeping and police forces in the conflict areas.
According to the ministry, an agreement was reached to start work on an action plan for the "deserved and safe" return of refugees and displaced persons, as well as an independent assessment on renovating irrigation and potable water systems in South Ossetia damaged in last year's five-day conflict.
Russia recognized the former Georgian provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states on August 26 last year, two weeks after the end of the conflict with Georgia. The war began when Georgian forces attacked South Ossetia to try to regain control of the region.
Friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance treaties with Abkhazia and South Ossetia were signed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev last November.
Under the pacts, Russia has pledged to help the republics protect their borders, and the signatories have granted each other the right to set up military bases in their respective territories.
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