Tbilisi: political analysts rule out restoration of country's integrity by force

An attempt to return Abkhazia and South Ossetia to Georgia by force will turn into a protracted conflict and cause irreparable damage to Georgians' interrelations with Ossetians and Abkhazians, the Georgian political analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" have pointed out.

Alexei Danilov, the head of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, said that the opening of additional fronts in the sphere of Russia's interests in territories of other countries would help Ukraine. In particular, Mr Danilov named Georgia as an example for opening a "second front," the "Georgia-Online" informed on March 27.

There are no people in Georgia who want to solve the issue of territorial integrity by force. Mr Danilov's statement was dictated by Ukrainian interests – to ease its position by removing a part of Russian troops from Ukraine, Irakli Aladashvili, the editor-in-chief of the "Arsenal" military journal, believes.

The problem cannot be solved quickly through a war; and no one will be able to predict how long it can last, Mr Aladashvili told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Paata Zakareishvili, a former State Minister of Georgia for Civil Equality and Reconciliation, has noted that Georgian authorities made two mistakes in relation to South Ossetia, namely: the military operations under the presidency of Zviad Gamsakhurdiya and in 2008; and in 1990s in Abkhazia. "It only separated us; and we must learn a lesson on how to communicate with those whom we consider our people and look for a path of negotiations and reconciliation with them, albeit a long one, but exclusively peaceful," Mr Zakareishvili told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 29, 2022 at 07:20 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.