PROTOCOL
of the Meeting devoted to the Issues of
Comprehensive Settlement of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict
On 4-5 March
During the meeting, issues related to further
development of permanent negotiation process on comprehensive settlement of
Georgian -Ossetian conflict within the framework of the Vladikavkaz Agreements
have been discussed.
The Parties once more reiterated their commitment
to the principles of peaceful settlement of the conflict, to the provisions of
the UN Charter, fundamental principles and decisions of OSCE, internationally
recognized norms of the international law, including the principle of
territorial integrity of sovereign states and right of the people to self
determination, emphasizing the crucial importance of comprehensive settlement
of the conflict in order to establish peace and accord in the Caucasus.
The Parties pointed out the fact that as a result
of signing the Agreement on Principles of Settlement of Georgian-Ossetian
Conflict on 24 June 1992 and introduction of Combined Peace-keeping Forces, in
recent years the situation has been improved, in term of the existence of
better psychological climate, step by step revival of the spirit of
constructive dialogue and mutual tolerance. At the same time, the Parties
manifested their strong belief in necessity of removing the dire consequences
of the conflict, to put an end to the heavy legacy of recent years and
restoration of peaceful relations and the mutual respect between the parties to
the conflict.
The Parties noted with satisfaction the emerging
positive tendencies in terms of settlement of the prevalent problems. At the
same time, the special importance of the ongoing negotiation process directed
at comprehensive settlement of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict has been
underlined, the process that was initiated by the quadripartite meeting
mediated by the OSCE that took place on 30 October
E. A.Shevardnadze and L.A. Chibirov that took
place on 27 August
The Parties unanimously acknowledged the sheer
necessity for further progress in terms of final, comprehensive and peaceful
settlement of the conflict. To this end and in order to implement provisions of
the Statement issued on
The Parties pointed out necessity of setting up a joint
secretariat for carrying out organizational duties and supporting operative works carried out by
the Parties. The Parties agreed to appoint, but no later that
Within the context of comprehensive settlement of
the Conflict, the huge importance of arriving at mutually acceptable decision
with regard of political-legal aspects of Georgian-Ossetian relations, taking
into account the events of recent years, as well as timely solution of the
problems of economic revival and restoration of the disrupted economic ties,
has been emphasized. The Parties pointed
to the vital importance of finding new approaches in terms of settlement of
economic aspects of the conflict, taking into due account the realities of
modern market relations.
With a view of addressing the aforementioned
problems and preparation of projects for their further deliberation and
possible signing by the special delegations representing the parties to the
conflict, and in accordance with the article 6 of the Rules of Procedure, the
Parties agreed to set up a group of experts. The Parties agreed to inform the
Secretariat about the composition of the expert group no later that
The Parties agreed to hold the next meeting in
June-July 1997. Date and venue and agenda of the meeting will be identified
later on.
On behalf of Georgia I. Menagarishvili
On behalf of
On behalf of the
On behalf of the
On behalf of the OSCE R. Harmoza
(Journal “Dimplomaticheskiy Vestnik”, 1997, # 4, p. 47-48)