Bagapsh Sworn in as President

Sergey Bagapsh, who was elected with more than 91% of votes in elections on January 12, was inaugurated as new President of breakaway Abkhazia today.
 
?We have a multi-ethnic population living in Abkhazia and they elected the President. Now, it is our duty to fulfill the will of the population, to maintain peace and improve the well being of our population,? Russian news agency RIA Novosti reports Bagapsh as saying at the inauguration ceremony on February 12. 
 
Bagapsh also stated his appreciation for the role Russia is playing in the settlement of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict.
 
Reports say Governor of the Krasnodar district of the Russian Federation Aleksander Tkachov and South Ossetian de facto President Eduard Kokoity both attended the inauguration ceremony.

Ailing ex-President of unrecognized republic Vladislav Ardzinba,who led the breakaway region for the past decade, could not attend the inauguration, despite earlier reports that he intended to participate in the ceremony.