The Geneva Talks over Georgia’s Territorial Conflicts: Achievements and Challenges

In October 2008, an international mediation process began over Georgia’s breakaway regions – Abkhazia and South Ossetia. To date, the main achievement of this forum has been Russia’s decision to withdraw its military troops from Perevi, a small Georgian village beyond the South Ossetian administrative border. Its main failure instead has been the inability to prevent Russia from vetoing the extension of the UN and OSCE missions to Georgia’s breakaway regions. After two years, the Geneva talks stand at a crossroads, facing key challenges regarding their format and objectives. Furthermore the scepticism of the conflict parties about the prospect of achieving peace through negotiations is worryingly growing. Nonetheless, the forum remains an unique international mediation platform, which keeps the conflict parties at the negotiating table and in contact with one another.