TBILISI. July 24 (Interfax-AVN) - Tbilisi is ready to sign an agreement on the non-resumption of hostilities with Abkhazia provided a number of conditions are met, Chairman of the Georgian parliament's Commission for the Restoration of Territorial Integrity Shota Malashkhia said.
"Georgia has no problems with the signing of an agreement on the non-resumption of hostilities; however, the document can be formalized only from the point of view of a comprehensive return of refugees," Malashkhia said.
Georgia signed a similar agreement back in 1994 and remains committed to it, the MP said. "Only the Russian side and the separatists violate this agreement, as was the case during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, when the document signed by the Russian and Georgian presidents and the Abkhaz leader became void because of an attack by Abkhazia," Malashkhia said.
Regardless, if there will be a need to formalize a new agreement, the Georgian side is "ready, but only if the issue is about a comprehensive resolution of the issue and the creation of additional guarantees at the level of the European Union and the acknowledgement of the main crime: ethnic cleansing," he said.
The EU and Russia have stated that the signing of a document on the non-resumption of hostilities will be the beginning of the process of restoring trust between the Georgian and Abkhaz sides and talks.