After the 68th round on 10–11 November 2026, the co-chairs said all participants welcomed continued dialogue as an expression of commitment to peacefully settling all outstanding issues, but differed in their assessments of regional security and remained divided over non-use of force.
Participants in the Geneva International Discussions reviewed security and humanitarian issues stemming from the 2008 Russia–Georgia war. The co-chairs said participants had differing assessments of security since the previous round in July 2026, while noting that there had been no major security incidents in the preceding months.
The talks began in October 2008 after an EU-brokered ceasefire on 12 August 2008 and implementing measures on 8 September 2008 provided for international discussions. The European Union, United Nations and Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe co-chair them; Georgia, Russia, the United States and representatives from Abkhazia and South Ossetia participate.
The co-chairs said they would continue consulting participants to bridge differences over non-use of force and international security arrangements. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Russia and the Abkhaz and South Ossetian participants prioritized legal guarantees that Georgia would not use force against the territories, as well as border delimitation and the restoration of a suspended incident-prevention mechanism in Gali. Civil.ge published accounts of the co-chairs’ communiqué and the participants’ positions.
Georgia made its own non-use-of-force pledge in November 2010 and has sought a reciprocal Russian commitment. Russia and the Abkhaz and South Ossetian participants have instead argued for binding agreements between Georgia and the two territories, maintaining that Russia is not a formal party to the conflict.
South Ossetian participants supported further work on a political document as a step toward a binding agreement with Georgia. Abkhaz participants called for binding international guarantees that Georgia would not use force against Abkhazia.
The co-chairs said participants welcomed the security contribution of the Ergneti Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism and its hotline, managed by the European Union Monitoring Mission. The mechanisms, established under the Geneva process, provide separate meetings for regular discussion of local security concerns involving Georgian officials, Abkhaz or South Ossetian representatives and Russian border troops.
Participants also reiterated their support for resuming the Gali mechanism and explored options, the co-chairs said. Abkhaz participants said they had offered proposals to overcome disagreements. The mechanism has been suspended since 2018, when Russian and Abkhaz participants left a meeting amid a dispute over a Georgian blacklist of people convicted of or charged with grave crimes against Georgian citizens in the two territories. Civil.ge reported the walkout on 27 June 2018; the EU Monitoring Mission confirmed that deliberations could not be completed because some participants saw no basis for continuing. Georgian security official Irakli Antadze accused Russian and Abkhaz representatives of demanding through blackmail and an ultimatum that the Otkhozoria case be removed from the agenda. The Abkhaz authorities condemned the blacklist as destructive.
Humanitarian discussions covered crossings, documentation, livelihoods, missing persons and education, as well as freedom of movement and travel beyond the region, the co-chairs said. They said participants exchanged views on potential mobility steps to develop in future rounds.
The return of internally displaced people and refugees was not discussed because some participants walked out, the co-chairs said, calling on everyone to engage on all agenda items. South Ossetian participants said discussion could resume only if Georgia ended what they called its politicization of the issue.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it was seeking consensus to move the discussions from Geneva, with support from the Abkhaz and South Ossetian sides. It argued that Switzerland had compromised its neutrality by adopting EU sanctions against Russia.
The 69th round is scheduled for March 2027.
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In October 2026, police and partners visited or raided 3,029 premises, seized £2.2 million (about $2.9 million) in cash and obtained orders freezing £3.7 million (about $4.9 million) in bank accounts.
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