Fighting broke out in Georgia in the early 1990s, when two regions declared independence shortly after Georgia itself had become a sovereign state following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
"The authorities are prepared to take unilateral steps to again demonstrate to the global community readiness for the peaceful settlement of conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia," Nino Burdzhanadze said in parliament. "We are ready to take into account all proposals that do not run counter to the principle of Georgia's territorial integrity and its national interests and sign a treaty against a resumption of hostilities."
But Burdzhanadze said the signing was only possible under reliable international guarantees that the other parties to the conflicts would not start military action and added that Russia, which has been accused of backing separatism in the region, could not ensure them.
"We will not sign a treaty in the Russian peacekeepers' format, that would be an illusion," Burdzhanadze said.
On Tuesday, Georgia's parliament unanimously adopted a resolution saying the government should begin procedures to replace Russian peacekeepers in the self-proclaimed republics with an international contingent. The recommendation came in the wake of a series of provocative incidents involving Russian diplomats and servicemen.
Russia, which helped end violence in the region in 1992 and has ever since maintained peacekeepers there under a CIS mandate, said the Georgian resolution would have to be backed by all parties to the conflict and was otherwise illegal.
The foreign minister of unrecognized Abkhazia, Sergei Shamba, said Monday the issue could not be resolved unilaterally and needed a decision of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Abkhazia's parliamentary speaker, Nugzar Ashuba, said Tuesday the legislature of the self-proclaimed republic would demand to halt talks with Georgia if it insisted on the Russian troops' pullout.
"If Georgia insists on the Russian peacekeepers' withdrawal, the Abkhazian parliament will demand a halt to the negotiating process with Georgia," he said.
Burdzhanadze said Georgia wanted a peacekeeping format that would promote a breakthrough in the conflicts rather than helped contain them.
She added that Georgia would never agree to give away Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
"These are not simply territories, they are our homeland, and we will never give it away," the speaker said.
