Ruling party official highlights “reconciliation, peace” as “only way” of de-occupation

Mamuka Mdinaradze, the Executive Secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday highlighted “reconciliation and peace” as the only way of de-occupation of the country’s Russian occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) regions.

Mdinaradze’s comments followed after Sergei Shamba, the so-called “Minister of Foreign Affairs” of Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia region on Tuesday confirmed that Russia on Sunday suspended funding for the occupied region and demanded to fulfil “certain obligations” .

“Let us be a little cautious in our assessments on such topics and let us just say that Georgia firmly believes that reconciliation is the only way to bring each other back”, Mdinaradze said.

“We must always tell our Abkhaz and Ossetian brothers and sisters with the most important and state-level assurance that we must return to each other through reconciliation and peace. The country should never deviate from this path. This is the only way of de-occupation, in which sooner or later no one will interfere, and we will live in a united country”, Mdinaradze noted.

Earlier today, the Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobahidze said the suspension of funding for the country’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia region was an “interesting” and “sensitive” process.