On 28 November 2017, the 51st meeting of the joint Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) was held in Gali town under the United Nations chairmanship with the participation of Georgian, Russian, Abkhaz and EUMM (European Union Monitoring Mission) representatives. The overall security situation on the ground since the previous IPRM meeting of 25 October 2017 was assessed as calm and stable. The positive assessment of value and important contribution of the hotline was reiterated, and the participants were encouraged to continue using this information-sharing tool effectively.
According to the agenda, the participants exchanged views and shared additional information on the previously discussed, but not yet resolved, issues. They also discussed new agenda points, including the issues related to freedom of movement and crossing documents. In this connection, an update was provided on the issuance of permanent residence permits to the local population. A new trend of cases linked to the crossings by foreign citizens to Abkhazia at uncontrolled locations was also discussed in details, and the participants expressed readiness to follow up on the matter.
The participants once again touched upon the necessity of voluntary exchange of advance notice on sensitive activities for confidence building purposes, which is a standing agenda point. As usual, the meeting took place in a constructive and business-like atmosphere.
It was agreed to hold the next meeting on 17 January 2018.