2018-09-11
As Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze emphasized at the Tbilisi International Conference organized by the McCain Institute and the Economic Policy Research Center, we believe that the only precondition for peaceful conflict resolution is a strong economy and democracy in which everyone can fulfill their potential.
In reply to a question about necessary preconditions for Georgia to return its territories in light of the current occupation of 20% of Georgia's territory, the Prime Minister spoke about the new peace initiative, A Step to a Better Future, which is fiercely opposed by Russia.
"20% of our territory is still occupied by Russia. What we see in these territories is really very painful situation, a humanitarian catastrophe. Let me remind you that the population in the Tskhinvali Region before the war was around 120,000. Now it is 20,000, of which 7,000 are Russian troops. In Abkhazia before the war, the population was 550,000, but now it is no more than 120,000. Indeed, it is a very painful challenge. We are trying to address this humanitarian catastrophe. We have a very important new initiative, A Step to a Better Future. The idea of this initiative is to provide proper access to education and healthcare to the people who live in the occupied territories, to give them a chance to have some commercial activities to feed their families. But, of course, Russia is opposing hard our peace initiatives. The best answer is to build a strong European democracy in Georgia, and we are very successful on this path. Let me repeat that we have no illusions. This path is full of challenges, and will be full of challenges, but we are very firm on this position," the Prime Minister said.
According to the Head of Government, there are no ethnic conflicts, only Russian propaganda, while people-to-people contacts are improving on a daily basis.
"In fact, we have a political conflict with Russia. As long as Georgia is successful in building democracy and competitive economy, we will be successful in conflict resolution of these conflicts. But, of course, we need the assistance of our partner countries. In this respect, we are very positive when there are meetings on a high political level of our friends with Russia. There is no alternative to dialogue, and the conflicts in Georgia are on the negotiations agenda. It is also in the best interests of the US and Europe to persuade Russia that here this part of the world needs peace and prosperity. If you look at Norway's experience. When Norway was joining NATO, the USSR was of course unhappy. But this decision made Scandinavia one of the best economies in the world. It is in the interests of Russia to have a peaceful and prosperous Caucasia as a neighbor. But we do not have illusions. There will be a lot of challenges, and we need engagement of government, opposition, civil society, media, and our partner countries and friends to overcome these challenges and obstacles together," Mamuka Bakhtadze said.
In reply to a question by Chief Columnist for Financial Time Edward Luce about the possibility of reaching a settlement with Russia with Putin in charge of Russia, the Prime Minister stated that Georgia has its own vision, its own strategy, and its own values.
"Our strategic partners have their vision of Georgia, and we are united by values. It will be a very complicated process. I do not have personal illusions. But we know-if we look at history-Russia was many times trying to go against progress, international trends. We are living in the 21st century, in a global world and economy. Russia, with its policy, is going against these world trends and progress, generally. Of course, I believe that in a foreseeable future this will happen, this will definitely happen, because there is no alternative, even for Russia. Everyone needs engagement. Our Western partners have a clearer picture about Russia's goals. This is a trend all across the neighborhood of Russia-Georgia's conflicts, Moldova, Ukraine, Karabakh. It is a pattern. So it a tactic of Russia. Western society will be more consolidated and we will get more support to overcome this challenge. We should also take into consideration Georgia's geographic location. It is a triangle-Turkey, Russia, and Iran, and we are a crossroads of civilizations. This experience has made Georgia and our nation pretty resilient. The combination of these two: the consolidation of Western society plus our nation's resilience, and I would also add the engagement of all stakeholders in Georgia, will be enough for us to overcome this problem together and top find a peaceful resolution. For us, people-to-people relations are main. If you have good people-to-people relations, you will always construct and find a political resolution of a conflict. Indeed, people-to-people relations are good, so we have a good foundation to find a political resolution of these conflicts. But, of course, it needs time and a political will, also a very efficient strategy from our Western friends and the engagement of entire society. We are absolutely sure that-but we do not have an illusion that this will not happen overnight-in the foreseeable future, this will definitely happen," the Prime Minister emphasized.
Prime Minister's Press Office