According to the State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality, Tea Akhvlediani, 7 citizens of Georgia remain in illegal detention in the occupied Tskhinvali region, and one citizen in occupied Abkhazia.

As she told reporters after the joint session of the Temporary Commission on Territorial Integrity and De-Occupation and the Committee on Defense and Security in Parliament, work is underway to secure their release.

"The human rights and humanitarian situation in the occupied regions remains dire, which is the main direction of our activities together with other agencies. In this regard, we are actively working with international partners in all relevant formats. 7 of our citizens in the direction of Tskhinvali region and 1 citizen in the direction of Abkhazia are still in illegal detention. We work on these topics on a daily basis. The main means of communication on their situation is the EU-led hotline, as well as our intensive communication with the Geneva Co-Chairs. On June 7, the next IPRM meeting will be held in Ergneti, where this issue will be raised again and discussed. We will continue our consolidated efforts to release them in the humanitarian terms in the near future," Akhvlediani said.

According to her, at the meeting they talked about the ways of further implementation of the depoliticized, human-oriented policy of state involvement and reconciliation. As Akhvlediani noted, the process of strategic revision of this policy is underway and it was important to discuss it in the parliamentary format. According to the Minister, the current program under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross, which is related to the search for missing persons and the support of their families, was also discussed.