TBILISI. Aug 16 (Interfax) - Georgian parliamentarians have said they share the appeal by former Abkhazian Prime Minister Sergei Shamba for starting a dialogue between Abkhazia and Georgia, which he made on the Russian media on Wednesday, yet the territorial integrity of Georgia is non-negotiable.
"We will never change our mind about the territorial integrity," Giorgi Volsky, a leader of the ruling party Georgian Dream and Parliament Vice-Speaker, told the press on Thursday in his comments on Shamba's interview. However, the restoration of confidence between Georgians and Abkhazians is a primary objective of the Georgian administration, he said.
Georgia and Abkhazia will have to discuss the territorial integrity sooner or later, Volsky said.
"The current position of the de-facto Abkhazian administration fully depends on Russia's goodwill, but we think we will be able to regain confidence of Abkhazians by working together with our partners. We are not enemies, and we have a responsible attitude to the future of our children," Volsky said.
Shamba told the radio Ekho Moskvy in an interview, "it is necessary to think about the future: our countries are neighbors, and we are destined to live side-by-side."
"Time for settling relations will come. I think we could start such a dialogue with Georgia," Shamba said.