MOSCOW. Oct 9 (Interfax) - Russia is concerned by reports that military infrastructure accommodating NATO's needs could appear in Georgia.
The Russian Foreign Ministry made these remarks following the latest round of the consultations on security and stability in Transcaucasia, held in Geneva on October 7-8.
"The Russian side voiced concern over Georgian media reports alleging plans to deploy military infrastructure in NATO's interests on the territory of Georgia. Such steps would pose a threat to today's fledgling stability in the Transcaucasia region," the ministry said on its website on Wednesday.
"The South Ossetian and Abkhaz delegations reiterated that decisions concerning Georgia that were adopted at NATO's latest summit seriously reinforce the need for their states and Georgia to conclude binding international agreements banning the use of military force," it said.
"A Russian-proposed joint draft statement of all participants in the discussions that prohibits the use of force and offers security guarantees was discussed as an effective step in this direction," the Russian ministry said.
The delegates to the Geneva meeting "reaffirmed their support of the Joint Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism operating on the Georgian-South Ossetia border," it said.
"The parties also analyzed the current state of the region's socioeconomic recovery processes and international organizations' possibilities in this context. Abkhaz representatives once again called on Western countries not to use double standards as they consider visa applications from citizens of the republic," it said.
The delegations of South Ossetia and Abkhazia confirmed their readiness to launch contacts with Tbilisi concerning border demarcation and delimitation, the ministry said.
The October 7-8 consultations in Geneva were attended by representatives of Abkhazia, Georgia, Russia, the United States and South Ossetia and were co-chaired by the UN, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the European Union. The Russian delegation to the meeting was led by Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the consultations saw "a sincere and professional exchange of opinions."
Their next round is expected to take place in mid-December.