Russia, Georgia agree on conflict prevention - mediators

The mediators hailed the accord as an important step towards lowering tension in the south Caucasus.Â

Diplomats warned that successful implementation was not a foregone conclusion and that issues such as the delivery of humanitarian aid and the return of those displaced by last year’s fighting remained unresolved.

Wednesday’s accord aims to head off violent incidents, often the work of private militias or gangs, and prevent them from escalating into a wider conflict.

"The agreed proposals are an important step in helping to bring stability and security to the region," the three co-chairs mediating the talks, the U.N., European Union and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, said in a statement.

The accord is the first to be struck in four rounds of "discussions" in Geneva since Russia and Georgia fought a short but bitter war over South Ossetia last August. The plan provides for regular meetings on the ground of all four parties as well as the international mediators, an emergency hotline and joint investigations of incidents.

Georgi Bokeria, Georgia’s first deputy foreign minister, was quoted by The Financial Times as saying the accord would for the first time allow joint investigation teams into what he called "occupied territory".

Tbilisi already has a transparency agreement with EU monitors that the Union says is being honored.

Daniel Fried, U.S. assistant secretary of state, who is also attending the Geneva talks, said the plan was a "significant success" but would need goodwill on all sides to put into effect.

The paper also quoted Fried as saying that the U.S. did not realistically expect Russian forces to disengage from South Ossetia or Abkhazia, which Moscow has "for a long time" recognized as sovereign states.