The Geneva International Discussions (GID) are international talks to address the consequences of the 2008

Russo-Georgian War The August 2008 Russo-Georgian War, also known as the Russian invasion of Georgia,Occasionally, the war is also referred to by other names, such as the Five-Day War and August War. was a war waged against Georgia by the Russian Federation and the ...

. They were launched in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, in October 2008 and are co-chaired by the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...

(OSCE), the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

(EU), and the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

(UN), the Geneva process brings together representatives of the participants of the conflict—

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, and Georgia's breakaway

Abkhazia Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a List of states with limited recognition, partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It cover ...

and

South Ossetia South Ossetia, officially the Republic of South Ossetia or the State of Alania, is a landlocked country in the South Caucasus with International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, partial diplomatic recognition. It has an offici ...

—as well as the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. After the cessation of the UN and OSCE missions in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, respectively, following the August 2008 Russo–Georgian war, the GID remain the only platform for all interested sides to discuss security-related issues and humanitarian needs of the conflict-affected population. The commitment of non-use of force is one of the principal issues at point discussed at several GID rounds. Georgia had made a unilateral pledge of non-use of force on 23 November 2010 and has since insisted Russia should do the same. The Russian government refuses to follow the suit, alleging it is not a party to the conflict. Instead, it wants Georgia to sign treaties envisaging non-use of force directly with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which Georgia refuses on account of the entities being part of its sovereign state. Russia has also expressed its concerns over the Georgians relations with

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

and military cooperation with the United States. Another major source of disagreement is the issue of return of

internally displaced persons An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced displacement, forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the Refugee#Definitions ...

(IDPs) and refugees, mostly ethnic Georgians, which the Abkhaz and South Ossetian representatives, with Russian backing, reject to discuss as long as Georgia is able to secure the yearly resolutions on IDPs at the

UN General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its 79th session, its powers, ...

. Among topics touched upon the talks are those related to language of instruction in schools in predominantly ethnic Georgian areas of Abkhazia (such as the Gali district) as well as freedom of movement and mobility, missing persons, environmental and cultural heritage. In the summer of 2016, the Abkhaz Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kan Taniya, said in an interview with the German newspaper junge Welt that the discussions in the Geneva International Discussions are locked in a standstill.David X. Noack: ''»Wir wären gerne Mitglied der Eurasischen Union«'' (interview with Kan Taniya), junge Welt 09.06.2016
Original source.Free version.
/ref> The 59th round of discussions where held from December 5 to 6 in 2023. The South Ossetian representative was Konstantin Kochiev.

References

External links

OSCE
Press releases related to the Geneva International Discussions {{UN Special Political Missions Russo-Georgian War Aftermath of war Georgia (country)–Russia relations Politics of Abkhazia Politics of South Ossetia Georgian–Ossetian conflict Abkhaz–Georgian conflict Georgia (country)–European Union relations 2008 in Georgia (country)