Talks with Georgia must begin with economic not political issues – Abkhaz leader

RIA news agency, Moscow
19 Feb 05

Sukhumi, 19 February: The head of the unrecognized republic of
Abkhazia, Sergey Bagapsh, believes that negotiations with Georgia
must be based on the Sochi agreements [on cooperation between Russia,
Georgia and Abkhazia on energy, railway communications and the return
of refugees], he told a news conference in Sukhumi today.

“Our side has several initiatives that I think will be agreed upon with
our friends. It would be good if they could also be understood by the
Georgian side. The most important thing is that we have announced that
we are ready to hold talks. The Sochi agreements, including those
on the issue of refugees, must be taken as the basis for these,”
Bagapsh said.

According to him, if the negotiation process is restarted the economy,
energy and rail links must be prioritized. “Railways are not just a
priority for Abkhazia alone. As well as economic growth, they provide
links and contacts between people who work in this area. This is
beneficial both economically and politically for Georgia, Armenia
and Abkhazia,” Bagapsh said. “If we start the negotiation process
with political issues, we will never achieve anything,” the Abkhaz
president added.

In his opinion, the Georgian side was responsible for breaking off
the negotiation process.

Earlier today Bagapsh met with Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister
Valeriy Loshchinin, who expressed the hope that the meeting would
encourage new possibilities to open up for continuing the dialogue
and restarting the negotiation process.