State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality Ketevan Tsikhelashvili, together with Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia and members of the Government, laid a wreath at the Memorial of Heroes Falling for the Unity of Georgia.

According to the State Minister, September 27 is one of the hardest days in Georgia's modern history and despite the 26 years since the fall of Sokhumi, the pain is still alive.

“This day is very tragic for a lot of our fellow citizens. Here are the mothers of dead children and mothers who are still looking for their missing children. Thousands of our fellow citizens were killed in a conflict that should never have happened. Civilians were killed on both the Georgian and Abkhaz sides.

“Today, as never before, it is clear that it was our common tragedy and pain. Sokhumi has fallen and will never become the way it was before. Today, the entire Abkhazian region is occupied and isolated by the artificial barricades. The situation is grave for the people living there. As you know, there are about 300,000 people are refugees and they have gone through the hardest road. They are still waiting for the return to their houses and no one will be deprived of that right.

"Today, with this pain, I would like to think again of what all this has brought - conflict, years, occupation, and to realize that as time goes on, it is more clear that we need to make mutually beneficial steps. We must take steps towards dialogue, confidence building and cooperation. At the very least, it is necessary for peace and it is also necessary for our children to have a better future”, - said Ketevan Tsikhelashvili.

Later, the State Minister, together with the Acting Chairman of the Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia, Ruslan Abashidze laid a wreath at the memorial of the national hero of Georgia, Zhiuli Shartava, and paid tribute to his memory.