The new Minister of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia, Oleg Bartsits, said that Tbilisi should abolish the law "On Occupied Territories" and sign an agreement with Sukhuma and Tskhinvali on the non-use of military force.

"Statements by the leadership of Georgia that they would like to improve relations with their main neighbors - Abkhazia, South Ossetia and the Russian Federation - do not escape our attention, but at the same time practical confirmation, real steps are necessary. From my point of view, there are several of them, including the repeal of the law "On Occupied Territories", which cannot withstand any criticism, any test of time. It is necessary to give an account of what actual realities we are in today. The second is very important, and we will focus the attention of all colleagues on the negotiations in the Geneva format on this - the signing of the agreement on the refusal to use military force. After that, we can talk about something else," the head of the Foreign Ministry emphasized.

The Law "On Occupied Territories" was adopted soon after the Russian-Georgian "August War" of 2008. The document provided for the introduction of a special legal regime in the territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which appear in the law as the Abkhaz Autonomous Republic and the Tskhinvali region, as well as their adjacent zones. In particular, a ban was introduced on visiting the occupied territories bypassing official checkpoints, as well as conducting economic and other activities there.

In February 2103, when the "Georgian Dream" came to power, mitigating amendments were made to the law: the offense began to be qualified only as an administrative offense with a fine.

Georgian mass media note that today there are numerous cases when persons (including public ones) who violated the law "On Occupied Territories" freely enter the territory of Georgia and vice versa without any consequences for themselves.