Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili will support the restoration of the Abkhazian section of the railway only in case of de-occupation of Georgia.

“Otherwise, it would legitimize the occupation,” he said during a meeting with students and professors of the Sukhum University in Tbilisi, Novosti Gruziya reported.

The issue of restoring the Abkhazian section has been raised since Bdzina Ivanishvili’s Georgian Dream came to power.

 The president said that “the core issue is where the Georgian border guard will stand after the railway is restored.”

“Until there is no answer to this question, the railway will be a foothold for Russia’s influence on the Caucasus,” Saakashvili said.

President of Georgia noted if the Baku-Akhalkalaki-Kars railway project is implemented, Georgia will become a strategic player, and the government has to think about it.