Alasania Visits Sokhumi

President Saakashvili’s aide for Abkhaz conflict issues Irakli Alasania left for Sokhumi on May 24 to hold talks with Foreign Minister of breakaway Abkhazia Sergey Shamba.

Alasania plans to present Tbilisi’s peace plan, or roadmap for the Abkhaz conflict resolution, according to the Alasania’s press office.

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Matthew Bryza and Russian Foreign Ministry’s special envoy Mikhail Bocharnikov will also attend the talks between Alasania and Shamba in Sokhumi, according to Alasania’s press office.

Both Bryza and Bocharnikov are involved in a high-level delegation of the Group of Friends of the UN Secretary-General, which is visiting Georgia to hold talks over the Abkhaz conflict resolution on May 23-25.

The delegation, which also includes officials from Germany, France and the UK, met with Abkhaz leader Sergey Bagapsh on May 23 in Sokhumi.

After talks in Sokhumi Alasania will visit Batumi, the Adjara Autonomous Republic, where he will meet with President Saakashvili and will brief him about the negotiations.