On October 9, 2018, Sergey Shamba, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia met with Cihan Sultanoglu, the Co-Chairs of the International Geneva Discussions on Security and Stability in the Caucasus – UN, Viorel Mosanu, Co-Chair OSCE Co-Chair Political Advisor to the EU Co-Chair Gottfried Hanne.
During the meeting, the importance of the IGD format was noted, and the topic of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) in Gal was discussed.
Sergey Shamba said that the Geneva discussions today are the only platform where "we can talk about existing problems at this level. One of the main results of this process is that "the guns are silent; the diplomats are talking."
The Minister named the non-resumption of hostilities and the signing of a peace agreement between the Republic of Abkhazia and Georgia as some of the most important issues on the agenda for the Abkhaz side.
The head of the Foreign Ministry noted that if Georgia apologizes for what it did, then Abkhazia would welcome the first such step towards reconciliation. Georgia also needs to abandon formulations that do not contribute to the settlement of relations, in particular, about the alleged "occupied territories". During the conversation with Western diplomats, the Minister of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the political status of the Republic of Abkhazia is not subject to any discussion. At the end of the meeting, Sergei Shamba expressed hope for constructive cooperation within the framework of the International Geneva Discussions on Security and Stability in Transcaucasia.