The crisis in the self-proclaimed republic emerged after the Supreme Court of Abkhazia adopted two mutually exclusive decisions early on October 29. First it recognized as legal a Central Election Commission decision on Mr. Bagapsh's victory, but a few hours later it ruled that the elections were invalid and instructed the republic's CEC to hold a new election within two months.
Even the two candidates' teams wondered which structures invited Mr. Bagapsh and Mr. Khadzhimba to Moscow. The former's election staff hopes that the Moscow meetings will help to stabilize the situation in Abkhazia. The visit will presumably show if Moscow has changed its position in favor of Mr. Bagapsh. Mr. Khadzhimba's team also spoke about the desirable contribution of Moscow to the republic's "stabilization."
Russia maintains contacts with Abkhazian politicians not at the working rather than the top political level. Moscow has decided to act as the mediator in the Abkhazian conflict because it believes that an escalation of tension in the republic may be fraught with destabilization, which is not in Russia's interests. According to sources close to the negotiations, Moscow has nothing against Mr. Bagapsh becoming the new president of Abkhazia. Contrary to the general belief, Mr. Khadzhimba did not make a positive impression on Vladimir Putin during their September meeting in Sochi, which was interpreted as the Kremlin's blessing on a Khadzhimba presidency.
