Opposition leader Gvaramia: Georgians want Abkhazia back but do not want war

Coalition for Change leader Nika Gvaramia has said Georgia should seek the return of the currently Russian-occupied Abkhazia andTskhinvali regions without resorting to war, arguing that Georgian politicians must find a way to reconcile the two objectives.

"Georgians do not want war, and at the same time they want Abkhazia back. It is the politician's task to bring these two things together and find a solution," Gvaramia wrote on social media.

He criticised Georgian Dream and Imedi TV for portraying his vision of restoring Abkhazia without war as equivalent to "handing Abkhazia over to Russia".

"Georgian Dream, make up your minds: do you want war, or do you not want Abkhazia back?" Gvaramia wrote.

He said his understanding of public sentiment in Georgia was that the country wanted to restore control over Abkhazia and Tskhinvali, did not want war and believed a peaceful restoration was possible.

Gvaramia said he believed he had a vision for achieving this without war and for preventing any future conflict on Georgian territory.

He acknowledged that other political positions existed, including support for a military operation to restore control over the territories and those who did not consider their return possible or important.

Gvaramia also rejected what he described as attempts to link his comments about Abkhazia with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's approach to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, saying he had explicitly stated in the same interview that the Armenian and Georgian-Abkhaz cases were not comparable.