Abkhaz Foreign Minister Speaks of Sokhumi’s Position

In an interview with the Russian daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta published on April 11 Foreign Minister of breakaway Abkhazia Sergey Shamba said that Abkhazia rules out the possibility for any talks over the political status of the region and will agree only on discussions of economic cooperation.

“We [the Georgian and Abkhaz sides] have absolutely different approaches to the conflict resolution issue. Abkhazia solved its most important issue when our people voted for a referendum of independence. We are ready to discuss, and we are already discussing, other issues with Georgia, including: economic cooperation, joint rehabilitation of the Enguri hydro power station, restoration of a railway link via Abkhazia and the return of refugees to the Gali district of our republic. We are ready to work in these frames,” Sergey Shamba said.

He also commented on possible talks between Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and Abkhaz leader Sergey Bagapsh and said that “it is necessary to first determine what will be discussed and on what kind of issues a final document will focus on. Unfortunately, this has not happened yet.”

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