On 9 September 2016, the thirty-ninth meeting of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) chaired by the United Nations was held with the participation of Georgian, Abkhaz, Russian and European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) representatives.
The meeting took place in a constructive and professional atmosphere. The participants followed up on the issues raised at previous IPRM meetings. Accordingly, they exchanged views on the current state of investigation into the 19 May fatal incident at the crossing point in Khurcha village, Zugdidi district. They agreed to continue the discussion on this issue at the next meeting, including possible exchange of additional information to be provided by the authorities in charge of the investigation process.
Furthermore, the participants revisited the murder case, which had occurred in 2010, and had been discussed at the 18th IPRM meeting on 15 June 2010. They exchanged information about the condition of one detainee, as well as one missing person. Recent developments on the ground and at the sea were also discussed. In the framework of advance notice of sensitive activities, the point on “Early warning on military and other activities in the vicinity of ABL (Administrative Boundary Line)” was addressed. It was noted that this issue is important for conflict prevention and confidence building purposes.
The participants agreed to hold the next meeting of the IPRM on 19 October 2016 in Gali.