Ruling party official: Gov’t’s “pragmatic” policy serves to restore territorial integrity
Kaladze noted reintegration of the occupied territories would “need to happen through the country’s development, common sense and economic progress”. Photo: Tbilisi City Hall
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Kakha Kaladze, the Mayor of Tbilisi and the Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday said the “pragmatic” policy of the Government served to restore the territorial integrity of the country, in comments over the 31st anniversary of the 1992-1993 war in the Russian-occupied Abkhazia region.
Kaladze noted reintegration of the occupied territories would “need to happen through the country’s development, common sense and economic progress”.
It is a very difficult day in the history of Georgia, [the date] when the war started and we lost territories. We had a lot of people killed - civilians and soldiers. We received citizens of our country who became [internal] refugees”, he noted.
“[T]he pragmatic policy that the Georgian Government has adopted - [it] is important for us to win each other back”, Kaladze told the local media.
Today, the most important thing is to restore the territorial integrity of the country. It is no coincidence that the first thing written in [Georgia’s] constitution is the restoration of territorial integrity. We must do all this not with war and strife, but with development, wisdom, education, and economic progress. I think we can win each other back”, he concluded.
The Abkhazia war began on August 14, 1992 and lasted for 13 months and 13 days, ending with the loss of the capital of Abkhazia, Sokhumi, on September 27, 1993, to separatist forces backed by militants from the North Caucasus and the Russian troops stationed in the region.
The conflict saw the sides negotiate a ceasefire in September 1992 which was broken by the Abkhaz and Russian forces a month later. The ceasefire that ended the conflict was signed in December 1993.
In August 2008, following a five-day war between Russia and Georgia, the Russian Government recognised the independence of Abkhazia, with the Georgian Parliament declaring it a Russian-occupied region of the country two days later - a view shared by the international community.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday highlighted the Government’s “reasonable and peaceful policy” with regards to the Russian-occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) regions of the country and said the vision was “focused on restoring trust” between communities divided by conflicts in the territories, in his message for the 31st anniversary of the 1992-1993 war in the former.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday said the Government was pursuing development to “achieve the cherished goal of building a united and strong Georgia” together with compatriots in the Russian-occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) regions, in comments marking the 31st anniversary of the start of the 1990s armed conflict in the former.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and the members of his Government on Wednesday paid tribute to nine Georgian heroes who went missing during the 1992-93 armed conflict in Georgia’s Russia-occupied region of Abkhazia and whose remains had been transferred from the occupied region.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday said restoring the territorial integrity of the country was the “main national task” of the Government, in comments over the 31st anniversary of the 1992-1993 war in the Russian-occupied Abkhazia region.
The security, humanitarian and human rights situation in the Russian-occupied regions of Georgia was discussed on Wednesday in a meeting between Tea Akhvlediani, the Georgian State Minister for Reconciliation and Civil Equality, and Jesper Moller, UNICEF's newly appointed Representative in Georgia.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday said if NATO membership was offered to Georgia in exchange for territory concession, the country’s answer would be “categorical refusal”.
Mikheil Sarjveladze, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament's Committee on Human Rights, on Wednesday said statements and actions incompatible with the principle of territorial integrity of Georgia were “categorically unacceptable and illegitimate”, after Dmitry Medvedev, the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia, on Tuesday said “the idea of joining Russia is still popular in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and it can be implemented if there is a good reason for it”.