GENEVA — Mediators succeeded Wednesday in getting direct talks going between Russia and Georgia, pressing the two neighbors to resolve security and refugee issues from their August war in the troubled Caucasus.
In all, eight parties met behind closed doors at the United Nations’ European headquarters in Geneva for the one-day talks and agreed to meet again next month, EU representative Pierre Morel said.
The U.N. refugee agency estimates more than 30,000 people are still unable to return to their homes, and tensions in the region remain high.
Representatives from Georgia’s two breakaway provinces, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, attended the talks, along with the EU, the U.N., Russia, Georgia, the United States and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
