Addressing the conference participants of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, the First Deputy State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality Mrs. Ketevan Tsikhelashvili gave an overview of current situation in the occupied regions of Georgia, peaceful policy and development of Geneva International Discussions.
“The role of civil society in conflict settlement and peace-building process is immensely important, because usually they are able to do something that is impossible for the Government.
Today the European Union and western partners face serious challenges, ranging from terrorism to the refugee crisis, therefore security and stability into our region is vitally important for the whole European Union. This can be achieved through peaceful settlement of the conflicts. The Government of Georgia chooses to pursue peaceful and reconciliatory policy in Georgian-Abkhaz and Georgian-Ossetian relations, whereas it principally maintains the policy of de-occupation with Russia,” – Mrs. Ketevan Tsikhelashvili declared.
Participants of the meeting also discussed existing challenges, the issues of security, regional conflicts, including Georgia, the role of Russia and the development of peace-building processes.
By the conference round-up, participants discussed the possible ways for enriching the efficiency of peaceful formats, possible moves for countering the aggressive policy of Russia, which seeks to tailor these formats to its own interests and the rationale for which the security in EaP regions is directly related with the overall security of the European Union.
Representatives from leading non-governmental organizations from six countries – Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan – who work in the area of European integration attended the conference of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum.