Russia joins settling situation in Abkhazia

Rashid Nurgaliev, Deputy Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, and Raul Khadjimba, President of Abkhazia, have discussed the stabilization of the political situation in the republic. The Kremlin is interested in settling the crisis in Abkhazia peacefully, experts have noted.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 10, Alkhas Kvitsiniya, the leader of the "Amtsakhara" Party, achieved the cancellation of the presidential election outcomes, in which he was only a thousand votes behind Raul Khadjimba. This decision was made by the Supreme Court of Abkhazia amid the seizure by protesters of the presidential administration building in Sukhumi. Aslan Bzhaniya should become the new head of the republic, protesters have claimed.

In order to help the parties to find compromise and prevent clashes of the incumbent president with the opposition, on January 10, Rashid Nurgaliev Deputy Secretary of the Russia's Security Council flew to Sukhumi, the "Kommersant" reports.

Russia "expresses the desire to settle everything calmly, without confrontation and bloodshed," said Konstantin Zatulin, First Deputy Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs. In his opinion, residents of Abkhazia should themselves make a legitimate that will help the republic to overcome the crisis.

"Khadjimba himself should decide on whether he is able to rule his republic in the changed situation. In its turn, the opposition should understand that its actions should not jeopardize the Abkhazia's statehood," Mr Zatulin has emphasized.

In recent years, Russian authorities had no influence on the political situation in Abkhazia, said Alexander Skakov, an Orientalist.