Interfax
March 18 2005
Abkhaz leader prepared to meet with Georgian president
MOSCOW. March 18 (Interfax) – The President of the self-proclaimed
republic of Abkhazia, Sergei Bagapsh, has said he is ready to meet
with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili but believes this meeting
should be prepared by diplomats.
“Such a meeting should be prepared,” Bagapsh said at a press
conference while visiting the Russian State Duma on Friday.
The normalization of relations between Sukhumi and Tbilisi should
start with the resolution of economic problems, which concern not
only Abkhazia but also Georgia, Russia, and the South Caucasus as a
whole, Bagapsh said.
The Abkhaz leader suggested that contacts with Georgia could be
established by discussing the reopening the railway line from Russia
through Abkhazia and Georgia to Armenia.