Saakashvili Offers “Broadest Autonomy” for Abkhazia
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who arrived in Moscow on February 10, said the Abkhaz conflict will be one of the issues, to top the agenda of his talks with President Vladimir Putin on February 11.
In an interview to the Moscow-based radio station Ekho Moskvy on February 10, Mikheil Saakashvili reiterated Georgia’s commitment to peaceful solution of the Abkhaz conflict .
“Use of force [to solve Abkhaz conflict] is the worst alternative one might have. Even if we had a 100,000-strong army, I cannot permit military solution of the conflict. But everybody should know that Georgia will never agree for Abkhazia not to be a part of Georgia,” Saakashvili said.
“I am also sure that Abkhazia will hold presidential elections this year and new people will come to power, who will understand that they need to establish friendly relations with Russia and to simultaneously find common language with Georgians,” Saakashvili added.
Georgia’s new President reiterated the position of the ex-President Shevardnadze and said that Tbilisi is ready to grant Abkhazia “broadest autonomy within the Georgian state.”
“We agree on federative relations with Abkhazia,” Saakashvili added.
