TBILISI, April 11 (RIA Novosti) - Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has called the restoration of the country's territorial integrity a duty of each citizen of that South-Caucasian republic. (Two of Georgia's three autonomies - Abkhazia and South Ossetia - have actually withdrawn from Georgia as a result of bloody inter-ethnic conflicts after disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991. At the same time, the leaders of Adzharia, the third autonomy, do not want to part with the privileges enjoyed under President Sheverdnadze. This situation creates tensions in relations with Tbilisi.) The Georgian President met the Easter holiday at the Martkopi male monastery.
"My main concern and the concern of every citizen of Georgia is to restore the country's territorial integrity. We must approach this goal step by step. If Georgia is united, this will be a great benefit for every family and every citizen in the country," Mikhail Saakashvili told journalists in the monastery.
In his trip to the ancient Georgian Orthodox monastery, the Georgian President was accompanied by US ambassador to Georgia Richard Miles.
Other Georgian officials met the Easter holiday at the Sion Cathedral Church, Georgia's main Orthodox Cathedral, to which the blessed fire lit at the Lord's Tomb had been delivered.
