"The Geneva Talks follow a precise procedure. The six-point cease-fire agreement was reached on August 12, 2008, and Russia is doing everything it can to prevent implementing it. Only one of these points has been met, and that is the one dealing with Georgia's obligations. In other areas, the Russian Federation refuses to comply with the agreement”, - Lasha Darsalia, First Deputy Foreign Minister, said at a meeting of the Foreign Relations Committee.

According to the rapporteur, human rights and humanitarian issues are used by Russia as a subject of political trade, as a tool of pressure.

"As a result, one of the key responsibilities of the Georgian delegation is to make progress on human rights and humanitarian matters unrelated to security concerns. We have a number of key tasks in this direction, not only at the Geneva Talks but also in terms of overall foreign policy, one of which is the unconditional penetration of international human rights mechanisms into occupied territory”, - the government spokesman said.

The speaker expanded on the difficult human rights and humanitarian situation in the occupied territories, noting that Russia is trying to use this situation as a tool of pressure, which further complicates the situation.

"An intentional policy of utilizing humanitarian difficulties as additional pressure, both directly in the negotiation process and on the Georgian government as a whole, has intensified the situation there, complicating the attainment of specific goals, particularly the six-point accord. In practice, the reality we see on the ground involves illegal border demarcations, arrests, ethnic discrimination, and so on. This is part of a deliberate strategy to put more pressure on Georgia. People residing in the occupied territories are being held as political hostages”, - Lasha Darsalia said.

Zurab Abashidze, Special Representative of the Prime Minister of Georgia for Relations with Russia, also dwelt on this issue.

"In the aftermath of the August war, there was a high probability of a resumption of the conflict, which would have a negative impact on Georgia's domestic and foreign policy. During the communications with the Western partners, it seemed that in the current conditions of tension, the development of the country, the attraction of foreign investments, the implementation of transport projects, the implementation of the functions of the energy hub faced serious obstacles. In this situation, it was considered expedient to establish a channel of direct communication with Russia to discuss the issues selected for the Prague format agenda. These are trade, transport links, cultural-humanitarian relations. Informal dialogue does not address the issues on the agenda of the Geneva talks. The participants of the Prague meeting do not take any formal obligations and do not sign any kind of agreements”, - Zurab Abashidze said.

The rapporteur spoke about the progress made in trade, transport and humanitarian spheres with the Russian Federation.

After the reports, the session continued in camera.

As Nikoloz Samkharadze, Chairman of the Committee, said after the meeting, the talks focused on security issues in the region, as well as the situation around the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the ongoing processes in eastern Ukraine and the situation in the Black Sea region in general. The current format of relations with Russia and issues related to Russia-Georgia trade-economic and humanitarian directions were also discussed at the sitting. The focus was on non-recognition issues and the work of the Incident Prevention Mechanism directly in the Geneva talks.

"Considering that a lot of sensitive information was provided to the MPs, this meeting was held behind closed doors, in a very constructive manner. MPs can talk about very important issues in a calm, very calm environment. The information left leaves the impression that the security environment around Georgia is deteriorating. The main issue that we must all take care of together is to maintain the sovereignty and independence of the country, because the threats coming from Russia are growing daily. Neither the Prague format nor the Geneva talks can completely eliminate these threats. Therefore, we need constant contact with our partners and a reminder that these steps by Russia may end in very bad results for both Georgia and Ukraine, and this is a really critical moment in the history of our country”, - Nikoloz Samkharadze remarked.