"It's a symbolic issue," the minister has said in an interview with BNS.
The politician, who has a degree in German philology, has pointed out that the Germans have their own words for certain foreign countries and cities and that does not hurt anybody's feelings.
"Germany uses German names of some European cities and countries. I don't think they are insulted if the Germans call Milano Mailand or use Danzig for Gdansk. It's not so principle for me. But, of course, sometimes it's a case that the names come from the Russian language into other languages and this is the case in Lithuania that the name Gruzija came into the Lithuanian language from Russian. Maybe it's the result of our common history in the Soviet Union. Maybe it's possible to change," Pandzhikadze said.
"I think Georgija is more convenient for us but if it is a problem for Lithuania, I don't see any big problem in this," she added.
Georgian officials have said many times they would like their country not to be called Gruzija in Lithuanian and for some other form of the country's name to be used instead.
The State Commission of the Lithuanian Language decided back in February 2010 that changing the Lithuanian version of Georgia's name "Gruzija" to "Georgija" in the Lithuanian language would be ungrounded.
The Commission's decision came in response to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' inquiry into possible change of the Lithuanian version of Georgia's name.
"The relation of both names Gruzija and Georgija with the country's official and authentic name Sakartvelo is analogous - the first two are different from the third in their spelling and origin, therefore, should be listed as so-called traditional location names," the Commission said on its website.
The Commission cited a provision of the 1997 resolution: "All personal and location names of countries should be spelled in line with general principles, traditional forms should be preserved."
Georgia's representatives say the name "Gruzija" is a Russian relict that has nothing to do with the existing country.
