Below the answer of the East Ayrshire Council to the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Abkhazia in the United Kingdom, Professor George Hewitt: Dear Mr Hewitt, I refer to your recent enquiry regarding the Abkhazian memorial in Kilmarnock. Our position is as follows: Prior to 1996, the former Kilmarnock and Loudoun District Council erected a memorial in the Howard Park, Kilmarnock, which was stated to be “In memory of those from our twin town of Sukhumi who died in the Abkhazian / Georgian conflict 1992-1993”. At that time Kilmarnock was formally twinned with Sukhumi but this arrangement subsequently came to an end and was replaced by a friendship relationship. East Ayrshire Council inherited responsibility for the memorial following local government re-organisation in April 1996 and there has been no issue with regard to the memorial until October 2017 when the Georgian Embassy wrote to both the Council and the Scottish Government expressing certain concerns relative to the wording of the memorial. The Georgian Embassy highlighted that the wording and inclusion of the Abkhaz flag was contrary to UK foreign policy, which supports Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and does not recognise the unilateral declaration of independence made by the de facto authorities of Abkhazia. The Georgian Embassy also pointed out that the former twinning arrangement between Kilmarnock and Sukhumi had previously come to an end. The Council then sought advice from the Scottish and UK Government and, having done so, is now in the process of obtaining quotes for the memorial to be re-worded in a more appropriate manner which both accords with the UK’s foreign policy and, more importantly, continues to remember those from Sukhumi who fell on both sides of this conflict, hopefully without causing offence to any party. The memorial has not been removed on a permanent basis. It has been temporarily removed to allow the Council to obtain quotes for the proposed amendments to be made and to have these made and the memorial subsequently restored with revised wording. I trust this assists with your enquiry, Kind regards Lynne Buchanan Communications Manager East Ayrshire Council