In his speech, Mr. Paata Zakareishvili focused on the challenges and new factors with regard to conflict settlement, discussing the actions of the occupying regime in the occupied territories, including the installation of banners and barbed wire fences, underlying reasons and steps taken by the Georgian authorities in response to these actions.

"Today we are capable of localizing the provocation, preventing the larger destabilization and escalation of the conflict," - Mr. Paata Zakareishvili declared.

He briefly reviewed the needs of residents who live in villages near the dividing line, focusing on feedback provided by the state and implemented programs.

The State Minister also provided information to the Ambassadors about the perceptions of Abkhazian and Ossetian societies and initiatives for bilateral meetings. He spoke about the importance of employing the tools of EU Association Agreement, the Agenda and Visa liberalization, with an emphasis on the access to expected benefits for the residents of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

"The work on these issues with our international partners is important in a sense of informing them regularly, to mobilize their attention and, if necessary finances, or any other types of engagement, certainly in parallel with the non-recognition policy," - the State Minister declared.