Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania said after talks with Adjarian leader that Aslan Abashidze has chosen “a way of confrontation,” as the talks on April 13 failed to bring progress into troubled relations of the central authorities with Adjara’s self-minded leader. Aslan Abashidze is strongly opposing the demands of the Geogian government to disarm the vigilante groups.
Four-hour talks in Adjarian capital Batumi between Aslan Abashidze and Zurab Zhvania, were attended by the Secretary of the National Security Council and the special representative of the Council of Europe (CoE) Secretary General.
Zhvania said a failure to find a compromise “heats up tensions.” Georgian government is planning to come up with a specific course of action after consultations with President Saakashvili scheduled for April 14.
“Aslan Abashidze is not ready to disarm his paramilitary forces. He thinks he needs these groups and refuses any dialogue,” Vano Merabishvili said after the talks in Batumi on April 13.
“The issue of disarmament has not been solved. The problem will be settled only after the appropriate conditions are established in the country – I mean, when the tensions between Tbilisi and Batumi will be defused,” Rostom Japaridze, the Chairman of Adjara’s Council of Ministers told the reporters.