Russia-Georgia talks to start as refugees return

As refugees stream back into Georgian villages following a Russian troop withdrawal, senior officials from the two foes will meet today to tackle sensitive military and humanitarian issues.

Diplomats said the Geneva talks aimed to launch a regular negotiating process to get the enemies together to discuss practical issues following their five-day war in August.

But Georgia said it was seeking "fundamental steps" from Russia and could challenge Moscow’s insistence that representatives from Georgia’s breakaway Russian-backed regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia attend the one-day meeting.

Diplomats said that the closed-door talks – co-chaired by the EU, UN and Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) – had been carefully choreographed to avoid a showdown.

"Tomorrow the result will be to have the next fixture. If that materialises, it’s the start of a process," one diplomat told Reuters.

"What you’re trying to do is lock different parties into a process where they can tackle difficult issues bit by bit, starting with some that are less sensitive than others."

The aim is to win agreement for experts to meet every two weeks in Geneva, diplomats said. They will discuss refugees and other displaced people, and security and stability.

Months of skirmishes between separatists and Georgian troops erupted into war in August when Georgia sent troops and tanks to retake the rebel region of South Ossetia, which threw off Tbilisi’s rule in 1991-92. Russia responded with a powerful counter-strike driving the Georgian army out of South Ossetia.

Moscow’s troops then pushed further into Georgia, saying they needed to prevent further Georgian attacks.

Last week Moscow pulled out of buffer zones adjacent to the rebel regions ahead of an October 10 deadline in a ceasefire brokered by France as current president of the EU.

Up to 20,000 people have returned to their villages in the buffer zone adjoining South Ossetia since then, the UN refugee agency said yesterday.

Delegations from Russia, Georgia and its ally the US will take part in the talks. After an opening plenary, a technical session will follow, attended by representatives from South Ossetia and Abkhazia – albeit it without fanfare. Russia has drawn international condemnation by recognising the two Georgian provinces as independent states under its protection.

"Affiliations are taken off the table, it’s just their names. There’ll be nameplates but not saying where they’re from, just their names," the diplomat said.

But Georgia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Giga Bokeria served notice Tbilisi could challenge attendance by "proxy regimes".

"Russia should meet the terms of the ceasefire agreement in full, withdraw its troops from Georgia, reverse its decision on annexation of two Georgian regions and cease an attempt to challenge Georgia’s sovereignty," Mr Bokeria said.