Saakashvili Vows to Restore Territorial Integrity Peacefully

On December 16 President Mikheil Saakashvili told the staff of the Interior and Security Ministries, which are set to merger as a result of a governmental restructuring, that Georgia will restore its territorial integrity only through peaceful means.

?Restoration of the territorial integrity [of Georgia] is a political issue and we are not going to use military force for solving internal issues,? he said while presenting Vano Merabishvili, who is set to lead the new Ministry of Police and Public Security.

He also said that the Georgian side will be able ?to find a common language? with Abkhazians and South Ossetians.

President Saakashvili said, while presenting Irakli Okruashvili to the staff of the Defense Ministry late on December 15, that Okruashvili will remain at the post of Defense Minister until Georgia?s territorial integrity is restored.

The statement prompted the Abkhaz side to announce that Okruashvili will have to stay at the Defense Minister?s position forever.

?I am not going to stay here forever, a maximum of five years,? Okruashvili told reporters on December 16.