OSCE/PERMANENT COUNCIL: STATEMENT ON GENEVA TALKS

UNCLAS STATE 116787

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OSCE PREL PGOV GG
SUBJECT: OSCE/PERMANENT COUNCIL: STATEMENT ON GENEVA TALKS


1. (U) Post is authorized to make the following statement at
the November 12, 2009 Permanent Council meeting in Vienna.

Begin text:

Thank you, Madam Chair.

The United States appreciates the joint coordination of the
November 11 Geneva discussions on security and stability
arrangements in Georgia, and remains committed to the success
of this process.

We welcome the relatively constructive exchange of views
among participants, and continue to urge all parties to work
together in a cooperative and practical spirit to make
concrete progress on issues of concern. The Joint Incident
Prevention and Response Mechanisms have helped in this
regard, and demonstrate what can be achieved when all parties
to the conflict work together. We hope the mechanisms will
continue to meet regularly, and urge all parties to
participate actively and pragmatically, and to work together
to prevent and respond to incidents.

While we can all agree that the mechanisms have been a
success, Madam Chair, we all know very well that problems
remain. The security situation in Georgia remains tense, and
civilians continue to suffer from a precarious humanitarian
and human rights situation. We must do everything we can to
resolve these problems, and to reduce the tension and
unpredictability facing ordinary citizens. We believe the
international community has a valuable role to play, and we
remain convinced that an international presence in the
Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia is critical.
We will continue to urge respect for the human rights of all
individuals in the conflict areas; to call for free and
unhindered humanitarian access to the whole of Georgia for
groups addressing humanitarian and human rights concerns; and
to call for the safe, dignified, and voluntary return of
internally displaced persons and refugees.

As we have consistently stated, Russia's ongoing failure to
implement fully the provisions of the August 12 and September
8 agreements remains a matter of grave concern. Russia
committed not only to withdraw its troops to positions held
prior to the start of hostilities, but also to provide free
and unhindered humanitarian access to the South Ossetia and
Abkhazia regions of Georgia. We remind Russia that its
characterization of these regions as independent does not
relieve it of these commitments.

The United States remains committed to the success of the
discussion process in Geneva, and to achieving real progress
on security and humanitarian matters. Our commitment to
Georgia's sovereignty, independence, and territorial
integrity within its internationally recognized borders is
unwavering.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

End text.
CLINTON