Georgian president: Georgian women’s devotion living in occupied regions gives “hope” for return of occupied territories

Georgian women’s devotion, who live in the Russian-occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia), gives Georgia hope for the return of the occupied territories, Georgian president Salome Zourabichvili said in her address on Friday at the Paris Peace Forum.

Zourabichvili noted that during “very difficult” conflicts in the world, women had shown how to exist and progress, expressing her solidarity with Iranian and Ukrainian women. The president stressed that Georgian women had a “long history” with their “neighbour” Iranian women, the president's press office said.

Ukrainian women cannot be forgotten today. They have shown their role in the Ukrainian resistance; [...] they are the foundation by which Ukraine has been able to resist for so long. [...] the victory that emerges is especially of their merit”, Zourabichvili noted.

Photo: President's press office

The Georgian president expressed hope that Ukraine's progress and victories against Russia would “force” the Russian government to “sit at the negotiating table” and “give up” its occupation of Ukraine’s territories, stressing the importance of the presence of women at the negotiating table.

Zourabichvili emphasised that more than 15 years ago she had conducted successful negotiations with the Russian foreign minister to withdraw Russian bases from Georgia’s territory, which had not lasted long, as Russia had returned to occupy the country's territories.

Back then, the key to the success of these negotiations was undoubtedly the fact that I was a woman and had a different approach to negotiations”, Zourabichvili added.

The President's press office said, in his closing speech, French president Emmanuel Macron had addressed his Georgian counterpart noting that the Caucasus region had been “one of the main subjects” of his thoughts.