State Ministry for Reintegration renamed

Generating peace between Georgia and two breakaway regions is the purpose of a name change to a Government agency.

The State Ministry for Reintegration has been renamed the State Ministry for Reconciliation and Civic Equality.

In his announcement, Minister Paata Zakareishvili said the new name covered two directions: conflict resolution and ethnical minorities integration.

"The word "reintegration in the old name used to complicate a direct contact with the Abkhazian and Ossetian societies, Zakareishvili said.

"The new name is more neutral and we hope that this kind of wording will annul one of the arguments of our opponents, he said.

Zakareishvili initially wanted to change the name of the Ministry in March last year. He proposed the new name to the then-President Mikheil Saakashvili, who refused to sign it.

This is not the first name change for the Ministry.

In January 2008, the name of the agency changed from the State Ministry for Conflict Resolution Issues to the State Ministry for Reintegration, however this new name angered both Sokhumi and Tskhinvali.

At the time, officials from both breakaway regions said that they would not have engaged in talks with the Georgian State Minister in charge of "reintegration.