MOSCOW, May 30 (RIA Novosti) – The main aim of the opposition in Abkhazia is the resignation of president Aleksandr Ankvab, opposition leader and former Abkhaz Vice President Raul Khadjimba said Friday.
“The resignation of the President comes in the first place, everything else is just chain loops,” he said.
Khadjimba, who was nominated Thursday as head of the Provisional Council of People's Trust, said that dialogue was continuing with the current authorities.
“As one would say the dialogue is ongoing. Time will tell what the result will be," Khadjimba said.
The situation in the republic is calm, the opposition leader added.
The situation in Sukhumi, the capital of Abkhazia, escalated on Tuesday. The Abkhaz opposition staged a mass rally near the government offices, demanding the resignation of President Aleksandr Ankvab and the government. Later in the day, crowds of protesters seized administrative buildings in the city.
Abkhaz President Aleksandr Ankvab called the events "an armed coup attempt," adding that authorities are taking steps to stabilize the situation.
On Thursday, the parliament of Abkhazia voted for the resignation of the president.
Abkhazia broke away from Georgia following an ethnically tinged war in 1992-1993, just after the collapse of the Soviet Union. More than a decade later, in 2008, Russia formally recognized the province as an independent state after a brief war with Tbilisi over another disputed Georgian region, South Ossetia. Many Abkhaz citizens have Russian passports.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday that Moscow is concerned by the political tensions in Abkhazia and believes the crisis should be resolved through legal means.
