On 27 February 2018, the 53rd meeting of the joint Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) was held in Gali town under the chairmanship United Nations, with the participation of Georgian, Russian, Abkhaz and EUMM (European Union Monitoring Mission) representatives. The meeting took place in a business-like atmosphere.
The participants welcomed the release of one long-term detainee in early February 2018. They assessed the overall security situation on the ground, since the previous IPRM meeting, as calm and stable, and commended the effective use of the hotline. In this context, the Chair urged all participants to continue sharing information between each other as appropriate.
At the 53rd IPRM meeting participants followed up the May 2016 murder case of unarmed civilian. They also discussed issues related to freedom of movement of the local population and challenges, including the crossings of children to attend schools of their choice. The exchange of views on those issues was extensive.
The participants also discussed a maritime incident, which reportedly took place on 28 January 2018, and exchanged opinions on how similar incidents could be prevented in the future. Furthermore, the timely activation of hotline on this incident and one case of fire was once again highly commended by the participants.
It was agreed to hold the next meeting on 21 March 2018.