The 55th meeting under the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) took place today in Ergneti, co-facilitated by Kęstutis Jankauskas, the Head of the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM), and Ambassador Angelo Gnaedinger, the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-office for the South Caucasus.

While reviewing the current security situation along the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) the co-facilitators expressed their concern on the increased number of detentions that took place after the last IPRM, many of those being related to 'jonjoli' picking. However, effective use of the Hotline and the swift release of minors and women were once again welcomed by all participants. The co-facilitators encouraged the early release of those who remain in detention.

The participants continued to discuss ways to address the cases of missing persons.

Other specific problems including those related to the agricultural season, were also discussed. The co-facilitators called upon participants to find pragmatic solutions to address these issues.

The next IPRM meeting will take place on 24th June.