Delegations arrive for Russia-Georgia talks in Geneva

Geneva - The delegations from Russia, Georgia and the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia arrived Wednesday morning at the United Nations in Geneva for a second round of talks since they went to war in the summer.

Also attending the meetings are representatives from the United States, European Union, UN and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

An official with the self-declared Abkhazian government said he hoped the talks would be "constructive" but stressed that there would be no plenary meeting.

"It will be eight individuals in groups working together," said Maxim Grinjia, a deputy to the foreign minister.

He added that a dinner the previous evening the delegates had met in a "nice atmosphere."

The talks were expected to focus on security issues and refugees but not to touch on border disputes.

Ahead of the talks Georgia has said it wants international peacekeepers in the breakaway regions instead of Russian troops and has called for an investigation into who started the conflict.

Last month the first round of talks ended with both Moscow and Tbilisi accusing the other of walking out, though they did not sit in the same room during the discussions.

Russia and Georgia waged a five-day war in August, which began over the region of South Ossetia. (dpa)

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