President Reaffirms Commitment to Peace in Abkhazia, S. Ossetia

President Salome Zurabishvili has reaffirmed Georgia’s commitment to peace in her appealed the Abkhaz and South Ossetians.

“I’m addressing you at a time when some may, through the threat of war, try to manipulate and awaken false fears,” President Zurabishvili stated, “Georgia is not trying, nor will it try to return territories by war.”

“That is our unwavering decision,” she highlighted in her address made in the Presidential Palace garden in Tbilisi on April 9, the date marking both 1989 Soviet Massacre and the restoration of independence in 1991.

“You must know, and I take full responsibility for these words as the elected President of this country, the promise made by Georgia, as the Caucasus does not break its word.”

“After all, we can all see that territories gained by war bring nothing, not development, not self-establishment, not protection of identity,” she added.

During her address, attended by former lawmakers of Georgia’s first post-communist legislature, and other guests, the President said with “our citizens who live in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region… we must, once and for all, find a common language, without which there will be no common future.”

“Today, the perspective of Georgia has become even clearer, and that is the accelerated path to European integration,” Salome Zurabishvili appealed the Abkhaz and S. Ossetian residents.

“We want to extend a hand to you and offer to walk together on this path, this path of democracy, of self-determination, of freedom.”

“Unity is not achievable by force or through the enslavement of others. We already know that. This is why diversity, pluralism, multi-ethnicity and a multi-party system are integral parts of that unity.”

“In itself, this means that we must know how to make concessions, how to take into account the opinions of others, or at least understand them,” she added.

Also Read for Context:

• Georgia Remembers Soviet Massacre of April 9, 1989
• Russian Officials Launch Annexation Campaign in Tskhinvali
• Georgia to Imminently Receive EU Membership Questionnaire

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)