President Ankvab says "military solution" must be prevented in Abkhaz crisis - republic official
SUKHUMI. May 30 (Interfax) - Abkhaz President Alexander Ankvab has demanded that all services must work to prevent the use of military methods to resolve the republic's crisis, secretary of Abkhazia's Security Council Nugzar Ashuba told reporters on Friday.
Ashuba is taking part in negotiations with the Abkhaz opposition on behalf of the republic's authorities.
The authorities and the opposition have not yet held any talks today, he said. Several meetings addressing the current situation in the republic took place between them on Thursday, he added.
"Things are going slow in the negotiating process at the moment since new conditions and circumstances emerged. Taking all this into consideration, we will determine a format for our next meeting," Ashuba said.
When commenting on a parliamentary vote of no-confidence in Abkhazia's prime minister and a call for President Ankvab to step down, Ashuba said that "it is the deputies' business - they have put forth their proposals within the framework of the constitution and asked the president to adopt an appropriate decision."
"Another thing is whether the president is going to accept it or not. The president has already said that he will not accept it," Ashuba said.
"The president has demanded that all structures must totally exclude a military solution of the problem," he said.
Deputy secretary of Russia's Security Council Rashid Nurgaliyev is still in Abkhazia, and he met with local opposition members last night, Ashuba said.
