The State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality Mrs. Ketevan Tsikhelashvili met with local Abkhazians in Batumi.
“The meeting was extremely interesting and twice as much important, first because our office is responsible for civic integration – each citizen of Georgia, regardless of his/her ethnic background should identify himself/herself equal, they need to be intensively involved in all spheres of social development. We have a new Strategy on Civic Integration and Equality and respective Action Plan. We have talked about the strategy and discussed the areas of interests, problems of Abkhazians who live in Batumi and ways for their solution.
Underlined by the context of occupied Abkhazia, we obviously need to encourage direct dialogue and people-to-people contacts to address the Georgian-Abkhaz relations. There’s still much to be done. The main goal of our peaceful policy is unification of Georgia that primarily implies the unification of our people. Abkhazians and Georgians who live here in Batumi maintain remarkably good relations; there are many mixed families, comprising both Georgian and Abkhazian identities. These people are living examples that regardless of barbed wires that separate us today, there are many things that keep us united,” - Mrs. Ketevan Tsikhelashvili declared.
The locals extended their thanks to State Minister for her visit, expressing hope that bilateral meetings with central and local authorities will be intensified in future.
The family of Mr. Aleksandre Atsamba, in so called Abkhazia Quarter in Batumi, hosted the meeting. The Chairman of the Government of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara Mr. Zurab Pataradze attended the event as well.
On May 21, 1864, The Russo-Circassian War on Krasnaya Polyana resulted into the defeat of Adygeans Ubykhs and Abkhazians, followed by massive resettlement of these peoples. The considerable part of Abkhazian territory was desolated after Muhajiroba.