De facto Abkhazia calls for Georgia’s apology as “first step toward reconciliation”

Sergey Shamba, the so-called foreign minister of Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia stated that Abkhazia would welcome Georgia’s first step toward reconciliation if the country apologizes for past actions.

He made the statement on October 9 during a meeting with the co-chairs of the Geneva International Discussions.

Shamba explained that Georgia must also refrain from using terms that hinder the normalization of relations, specifically the phrase “occupied territories.”

He emphasized that the political status of the “Republic of Abkhazia” is not up for discussion and remains a non-negotiable issue.

Shamba further highlighted that the most important topics on the agenda for the Abkhaz side in the Geneva discussions include preventing the renewal of hostilities and signing a peace agreement between Abkhazia and Georgia.

During the Geneva International Discussions, the parties also discussed the resumption of meetings under the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) in Gali, according to the de facto foreign ministry of Abkhazia.