Abkhaz Side Walks Out on Weekly Talks

Abkhaz negotiators refused to participate in weekly talks in Chuburkhinji village in the Gali district on July 28, citing the presence of representatives of the Tbilisi-based Abkhaz government-in-exile, Abkhaz news agency Apsnipress reported.

These weekly talks, under the informal name “Chuburkhinji sessions,” involve representatives of the Georgian and Abkhaz sides, along with Russian peacekeepers and UN observers, to discuss routine ongoing developments in the conflict zone.

“The Abkhaz side is not going to hold talks in the frame of these quadripartite sessions with the Georgian delegations, which also includes representatives from the so called “Abkhaz Autonomy”s government-in-exile,” Ruslan Kishmaria, chief of the administration of breakaway Abkhazia”s Gali district, said.

A Tbilisi-based Abkhaz government spokesperson said “no information is available” about this report.

President Saakashvili said on July 27 that the Georgian side is ready to actively participate in the Chuburkhinji sessions.

The Abkhaz side has strongly condemned Tbilisi”s decision to relocate the headquarters of the Abkhaz government-in-exile, currently based in Tbilisi, to upper Kodori Gorge and has threatened to oppose the move “with all means, including diplomatic and military.”

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