The unconditional return of displaced persons to Abkhazia is an essential part of Abkhaz conflict resolution, President Saakashvili said on July 17 shortly before meeting the German foreign minister in Batumi.

President Saakashvili's comment followed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s statement on July 17, in which he said that signing a non-use of force treaty was required before discussions on IDP return could begin. “We think that signing a treaty on the non-use of force without any preconditions is an absolutely unavoidable first step,” Lavrov said, adding that IDP return was an “absolutely unreal” prospect at this stage.

“I want to respond to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s shameful statement,” President Saakashvili told journalists in Batumi. “Usually I do not respond to their statements, because some low ranking officials say so much nonsense sometimes that even our Foreign Ministry does not respond to them – but what they said today is a political statement and it is a very alarming statement, which should be discussed at a serious level.”

“They said for the first time today that they would not allow the return of refugees to Abkhazia,” Saakashvili said and added that this statement was made “in response to western pressure for the return of displaced persons.”
 
“I want to say that the refugees will return to Abkhazia and we will secure this process together with the international community,” he continued. “Nobody in other capitals, including Moscow, will assume the responsibility for such an inhumane and barbaric decision [not to allow IDPs to return]. This decision is a repetition of the most disgraceful and barbaric precedents which occurred in Europe in the past. And I do not think that it will be an issue of serious discussion even in the Russian government. I hope that we are dealing with very incorrect judgments of a very narrow group of people.”

“We will achieve a peaceful resolution of the conflicts; the unconditional return of refugees is a part of a peaceful resolution of the conflicts. It was one of the most barbaric and forgotten ethnic cleansing,” he added.