Nika Gvaramia: Our objective is to restore territorial integrity; we must become so indispensable to one another that future generations cannot live apart

“We cannot base our state imperatives on affection or dislike, nor on whether we manage to make ourselves liked by anyone,” Ahali party’s leader Nika Gvaramia stated.

Gvaramia was questioned regarding a statement he made on 20 September, in which he remarked that “Abkhazians do not love Georgians, and to be frank, nor do we love Abkhazians; at this moment, we are enemies, and enmity cannot be replaced by affection; that has never happened anywhere.”

“I will reiterate what I said then, and if anyone in the ruling team failed to comprehend it, though I doubt that, they should try to understand. We cannot dictate state policy based on sentimentality or winning anyone’s approval. We have a clear goal: to restore Georgia’s territorial integrity. We cannot afford to wait around to see which way the political winds blow or who enters into alliances and rivalries. We must become so indispensable to one another that future generations cannot live without each other in a prosperous, secure, and thriving state,” declared Nika Gvaramia.

He further noted that a serious opportunity exists to peacefully restore territorial integrity within the framework of the European Union.

“Believe me, we can achieve this without the Abkhazians, but the Abkhazians cannot manage it without us. Therefore, a very serious opportunity exists to peacefully restore our territorial integrity within the European Union framework. To return to the point you raised—how can I possibly sit here talking about who will fall in love with whom, or whether anyone will love us at all? Will people fall in love with Abkhazians or not?! This is not something a politician or a state official can work on to deliver results. Love cannot be ordered or engineered. It flourishes naturally when people coexist peacefully together. We must reach that stage, but once again, the country needs to be strengthened, and for that, we need each other. We must tolerate one another, and we will have to tolerate one another; this country will be united—albeit without Bidzina; otherwise nothing will come of it,” noted Nika Gvaramia.