Europe News

Russia and Georgia negotiate amid tensions

Jul 1, 2009, 12:38 GMT

Geneva - Russia and Georgia resumed Wednesday their ongoing negotiations following their war last summer, amid growing tensions in the region. This was the sixth round of talks, which also include representatives from the two breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The negotiations are chaired by the European Union, the United Nations and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Both the UN and the OSCE have lost their mandates to operate missions in the region in recent days, following Russian vetoes in both organizations, leaving only the EU mission to continue monitoring work. The United States has also participated in the talks, which first took place in October at the UN's Geneva office. Previous rounds have yielded little practical outcomes, but are mainly aimed at reducing security incidents along the de-facto border areas and solving humanitarian issues. Russia has also enraged Georgia this week by conducting military exercise in the Caucasus with 8,500 troops, the largest such operation since the war.

Europe News

Russia and Georgia negotiate amid tensions

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