Recent incidents and freedom of movement were amongst the issues discussed at the seventeenth Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism meeting in Gali

Under the auspices of the UN, Russian and de facto Abkhaz authorities, as well as Georgian Government and the EUMM representatives attended the seventeenth IPRM meeting in Gali on Tuesday 25 May.

In a professional and constructive atmosphere, participants exchanged information with regard to recent incidents, as well as followed up on incidents reported during the previous IPRM meeting. All sides agreed on the need to ensure unhindered freedom of movement, including to medical personnel.

As far as the previous incidents were concerned, participants concluded that some of the accidental infringements resulted from the fact that terrain along the Enguri River is unmarked. Therefore, it was agreed that technical joint visits would be useful to prevent such incidents in the future. Once again, the importance of the ‘hotline’ was reiterated.

The next meeting is scheduled to take place in Gali on 22 June 2010.