Foreign agents fuel division, while reconciliation between Georgians and Abkhaz possible, ruling party MP

Parliamentary majority leader Irakli Kirtskhalia on Friday said Georgia would not accept the idea that Georgians and Abkhaz “hate each other” and that nothing can be done to overcome their estrangement, accusing what he described as an “agent network” linked to the opposition of promoting permanent confrontation.

“We will never accept the idea that Georgians and Abkhaz ‘hate each other’ and that ‘nothing can be done about it.’ We believe that despite decades of accumulated pain, war and artificially deepened estrangement, reconciliation is possible,” Kirtskhalia wrote on social media.

He said that whenever discussion turns to peace, reconciliation between Georgians and Abkhaz, and a shared future within a united state, the political force and “agent network” he referred to as the United National Movement become active because permanent confrontation is their only means of existence.

Kirtskhalia also criticized former President Mikheil Saakashvili over a statement he attributed to him that “Abkhaz hate us and nothing can be done about it,” arguing that such rhetoric presents estrangement between Georgians and Abkhaz as a permanent reality.

“This is not just one phrase. This is political thinking according to which estrangement between Georgians and Abkhaz is supposedly a final reality,” he wrote.

He added the difference between what he called the “agent” opposition and a state-oriented government is most clearly demonstrated by their positions on reconciliation.

He said Georgia’s policy is based on peace, de-occupation, reunification and the restoration of trust between Georgian and Abkhaz communities.

“Georgians, Abkhaz and Ossetians have a common homeland and a common future. Together, we must build a strong, sovereign and peaceful state where neither internal nor external forces will be able to fuel hostility, hatred and confrontation between us,” Kirtskhalia wrote.

He added that Georgia’s peace policy and its vision for de-occupation and reunification are intended to advance this objective.

“They can talk about hatred. We will work for reconciliation. They can try to build walls between Georgians and Abkhaz. We will bring these walls down through peace, development and unity,” Kirtskhalia said.