Georgia, Tbilisi, Nov. 23 / Trend N. Kirtskhalia /
New Georgian Reintegration Minister Eka Tkeshelashvili is confident that the lost contacts with Abkhazia can be restored.
No one has any illusions that it can be done in one day, but the problem can be solved, Tkeshelashvili said in an interview with Imedi.
"We must not be afraid of complexity, on the contrary, it should give us more power to convince our fellow citizens in Abkhazia that life in a united Georgia is best for them," she said.
According to Tkeshelashvili, the new post is a serious challenge, as was the post of foreign minister during the August 2008 conflict.
As part of reshuffles in the government and the National Security Council last Saturday, Tkeshelashvili was appointed as the reintegration minister. Previously, she headed the National Security Council. Tkeshelashvili will also fulfill the responsibilities of deputy prime minister in her new post.
According to Tkeshelashvili, the ministry's main priority remains the reintegration of Georgia's occupied territories in a united Georgian space.
"This is not a new topic for me, but now I have to be directly involved in this policy toward the implementation of a public strategy," Tkeshelashvili said.
In terms of the state's policy toward the occupied territories, according to the minister, the strategy is the result of a national vision and consensus and no changes are planned.
"The occupation comes to an end," Tkeshelashvili said. "The inclusion of the West in solving the conflict in Georgia creates a basis for the process of the deoccupation of Georgian territories."
Georgia's autonomous regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia unilaterally declared independence and secession from Georgia after the 2008 conflict. The separatist regions were supported by Russia, which later established diplomatic relations with these de facto states despite protests by the West.
"The West's intensive involvement is important," the minister said. "And it must not be only oral support for our sovereignty and territorial integrity."