TBILISI. May 20 (Interfax) - Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili's statement that an agreement between Serbia and Kosovo is a good example for Georgia reflects his desire to see Georgia's territorial integrity restored peacefully but absolutely does not imply the recognition of Abkhazia's and South Ossetia's independence, Zurab Abashidze, the Georgian prime minister's representative for relations with Russia, told journalists.
"The prime minister welcomed the attempts to normalize relations between Serbia and Kosovo. He also noted that conflicts should be settled exclusively by peaceful methods rather than by weapons. Georgia's territorial integrity should be restored precisely by peaceful methods. At the same time, the premier's answer did not imply a hint that Georgia could recognize Abkhazia's and the Tskhinvali region's independence. On the contrary, he emphasized the need for restoring Georgia's territorial integrity," Abashidze said.
From the viewpoint of settling a conflict, the 'Kosovo model' could be relevant as applied to Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Abashidze said.
"I mean several aspects of this model: an international operation, in which a lot of countries took part, was conducted in Kosovo under the NATO auspices; Kosovo was governed by an international administration with a UN mandate for nearly 10 years; and international monitoring was conducted in Kosovo by various organizations for four years. In addition, dozens of international projects have been carried out in Kosovo in the past years to bring people closer together and overcome consequences of the war. Based on all this, a referendum was held in Kosovo. There has been nothing of the kind either in Abkhazia or the Tskhinvali region," he said.
In implementing all of the above-mentioned aspects, the Kosovo conflict settlement model could possibly be acceptable to Georgia, Abashidze said.
Bidzina Ivanishvili was asked the following question in a recent interview with Euronews: "Serbia and Kosovo have announced the normalization of relations and initialed a relevant agreement in Brussels. Could this example perhaps inspire Tbilisi to settle its relations with Abkhazia and South Ossetia?" Ivanishvili replied to this, "This is a very good question. They showed us a very good example. It consolidates our belief that the world is changing and that nations that earlier could not find a common language have reached a compromise today. Hence, we also should try and normalize relations with our brothers Ossetians, with the Abkhazes, and surely with the Russians."