Tbilisi Mayor and GD Secretary General Kakha Kaladze reported that the Georgian Dream government “positively assessed” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s statement that Moscow was ready to “help” Georgia “normalize relations” with “neighbors” Abkhazia and Tskhinvali, if they were “interested”.
“As for the statement of the Russian Foreign Minister, our government, of course, evaluates it positively. The fact that Russia only welcomes and supports reconciliation is certainly positive, although I would say that it would be good to take concrete steps in parallel with these statements,” Kaladze said, stressing that these concrete steps could begin, for example, with Russia withdrawing its military bases from the occupied Georgian territories.
“…I repeat once again that the Government of Georgia will do everything possible to restore the trust of our Ossetian and Abkhaz brothers and sisters in each other, and only through peace and mutual forgiveness is it possible to restore territorial integrity and live together,” said Kakha Kaladze.
Minister Lavrov’s statement also noted that to “normalize” relations between Georgia and its occupied territories, Georgia must “ensure non-aggression agreements.” The non-aggression agreement, or non-use of force, that Lavrov mentioned is the issue that Russia has been pushing hard for in the Geneva talks. Such an agreement would recognize Abkhazia and Tskhinvali as sides in the conflict, and thus as subjects of international law. Kaladze made no comment on that.
The de-facto foreign ministry of occupied Abkhazia issued a statement in response to Kaladze’s comment, saying that the Georgian government should first “establish diplomatic relations with Russia” instead of talking about “mythical concepts” such as the territorial integrity of Georgia. The Abkhaz side underlined the importance of their “strategic cooperation”, including the agreements with Russia on the Russian military base and the joint protection of the occupation line in Abkhazia.
“As for the possibility of establishing some kind of relations with the neighboring state of Georgia in the future, our position remains unchanged. Georgia must recognize the republic of Abkhazia as a sovereign and independent state and sign a legally binding document on the non-use of force,” reads the occupied region’s statement.
Also Read: