President discussed Georgia’s occupied territories with leaders of opposition parties

Georgia’s President Giorgi Margvelashvili has discussed the situation on Georgia’s occupied territories – Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions (South Ossetia) separately with the representatives of parliamentary opposition political parties including Free Democrats and the United National Movement.

Margvelashvili shared the opinions of the politicians regarding the developments in those two breakaway regions and also presented his visions. The Georgia-Russia relation was also discussed at the meeting.

"Georgia’s occupied regions and the country’s territorial integrity are very important issues for our country. These are the issues that Georgian side must formulate the opinion and we are in the process of searching for the political consensus,” Margvelashvili said after the meeting with the opposition parliamentary political parties representatives. 

President believed it was essential to consolidate all parties to come up with a meaningful response to Russia’s signed pact with Abkhazia and proposed pact with Tskhinvali.

In November, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and the leader of Georgia’s breakaway Abkhazia region Raul Khajimba signed a new treaty between Moscow and Sokhumi on ‘Alliance and Strategic Partnership’. Since then Tskhinvali’s leader also expressed interest in signing a similar agreement with Russia.

The treaty with Abkhazia has been condemned by Georgia and the international community, but Russian officials rejected accusations that newly signed alliance treaty between Moscow and Sokhumi was a step towards the annexation of Georgia's breakaway regions Abkhazia and Tskhinvali.

The talks also focused on the future steps to reinforce security of the country and to activate all levers to appeal international community.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Free Democrats political party Irakli Alasania expressed his confidence on the President’s initiative to hold an international forum which would emphasis on the problematic issues developing in breakaway regions.

"We focused on the threats [Free Democrats] see from Russia, in particularly Russia could create for Georgia. Increasing the defence capability of the country is also very essential,” Alasania said.

However, the United National Movement (UNM) representatives offered the President to share the resolution prepared by them that called for unity across party lines in response to Russian expansionism.

"In the resolution there is drafted the particular points and steps including the main issue like implementing the international society in these processes,” said MP Zurab Japaridze from UNM.

Japaridze believed that he would spare no efforts "to persuade the President on the accuracy of his political party’s suggestions how to solve the problems” related to the breakaway regions and Russia-Georgia relations.

The President intends to hold similar meetings with the representatives from the ruling Georgian Dream coalition and the non-governmental organisations in a few days.

The meetings with political parties are part of President’s initiative to build a broad consensus on "concrete anti-annexation steps” of Russia.