The State Minister for Reconciliation and Civil Equality Paata Zakareishvili says Geneva peace talks are not enough to repair conflict in the region.
"Yes we are speaking about breakaway regions however we speak not with them but with Moscow. I personally do not find this to be enough, Zakareishvili told the BBC Russian service.
He said the Geneva talks were Russian-dominant and there needed to be "direct dialogue between Georgia and the breakaway regions. From his perspective, the Georgian side was always ready to assist whenever people in the breakaway regions had problems.
"We are ready to reduce the political issues to a minimum and focus on humanitarian issues more but could we discuss those issues when we cannot talk directly to Ossetians and Abkhazians, he said.
According to Zakareishvili, direct talks were in the best interests of Abkhazians and Ossetians.
"When Saakashvili used to say that the breakaway regions were marionettes and there was no sense negotiating with them Abkhazians and Ossetians were angry. Now, when we offer to negotiate, they are setting conditions. I am afraid that the time will come and we will understand Saakashvili was right, Zakareishvili said.
"I do not want this to happen. I do not want to see Abkhazians and Ossetians unable to decide for themselves and we still have to talk with Russia. This is not the goal we are aspiring for.
He also said Georgia had to be patient while Abkhazians and Ossetians decided which path to take for a better future, however he believed Georgia was in a winning position and could offer a better choice to them Europe.
The Ministry for Reconciliation and Civic Equality is a newly acquired name of the former State Ministers Office for Reintegration. The purpose of a name change has been to generate peace between Georgia and the two breakaway regions. Zakareishvili said the new name covered two concepts - conflict resolution and ethnic minorities integration.
However, the name change has been criticized by the de-facto South Ossetia. The head of the de-facto Presidents Office of South Ossetia, Boris Chochiev, said there would be no difference no matter what the Ministry was named. He said the main direction of the Georgian state policy was based on the statement "Georgia for Georgians.
"Either you must become Georgian or you are going to be a secondary citizen. This was, is and is always going to be the same, Chochiev told the de-facto South Ossetian news agency Pec.
He said he used to believe Zakareishviliwas a sighted political scientist and realist politician however his statements indicated the opposite. Chochiev advised Zakareishvili not to worry about the name of his Ministry but to realise South Ossetia as an independent state and establish diplomatic relations with it.
"If it is true they sincerely are willing to normalize relations with South Ossetia, he added.