Mediators work to salvage Russia-Georgia talks

By Stephanie Nebehay

GENEVA (Reuters) - International mediators struggled to salvage the latest round of security talks between Russia and Georgia on Monday after Moscow's delegation walked out.

Delegations from Russia and the Moscow-backed rebel region of South Ossetia withdrew from the Geneva talks, citing the refusal of another Moscow-backed rebel region, Abkhazia, to attend, due to a delay in a U.N. report, both sides said.

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov indicated that Russia could rejoin the two-day talks on Tuesday if U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issues that report on its operations in the Abkhaz region. The U.N. chief is in Geneva.

"The co-chairs are working for the resumption of the discussions tomorrow morning, 19 May, as planned and call upon all participants to be present," the European Union, the United Nations and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said in a joint statement voicing regret at the walkouts.

The United States said it was dismayed by the walkout and hopes all parties will be present when the talks reconvene on Tuesday.

"The fact that the walkout occurred before any substantive discussions began clearly signals a coordinated effort to undermine the Geneva talks," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said in a statement.

Both the United States and Russia are eager to secure stability in the volatile south Caucasus region, long an area of Moscow's influence and now an important transit territory for Caspian gas and oil deliveries to the West.

It is the fifth session of closed-door talks between Russia and Georgia since September, following their brief but devastating war in August over South Ossetia.