Abkhaz President-Elect Speaks of Relations with Tbilisi
Visiting President-elect of breakaway Abkhazia Sergey Bagapsh outlined the unrecognized republic?s plans regarding its future relations with Tbilisi at a news conference in Moscow on January 25 and said that Sokhumi is ready to launch talks with the Georgian side, however, he ruled out the possibility of a return of Georgian internally displaced persons to Abkhazia.
?Return of the Georgian displaced persons, who fled Abkhazia during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict [in 1992-93], is impossible,? Itar-Tass news agency quoted Bagapsh as saying.
?[The Abkhaz side] is ready to launch negotiations with Tbilisi, if mutual confidence is restored,? Bagapsh said, adding, ?rapprochement of positions should start with a discussion of economic issues.?
?When normal economic developments in the region foster the creation of infrastructure, not only in Abkhazia but in Georgia as well, it will be possible to move to the resolution of the political problems,? Bagapsh said.
Sergey Bagapsh, who is visiting Moscow together with his former rival and now elected Vice-President Raul Khajimba, also said that Sokhumi anticipates proposals from the Georgian side, which President Saakashvili promised to unveil in the near future.
?No one has seen this document yet in Sukhumi. However, if the proposals are adequate, we are ready to consider them,? Bagapsh added.
