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Conflict in Abkhazia

Ministers, agencies in Abkhazia work as usual - premier

He called on the ministers and agencies to continue the work

SUKHUM, May 31 /ITAR-TASS/. All ministers and agencies, city and regional administrations work as usual, Abkhazia’s premier has said.

The situation in Abkhazia “is not easy”, Prime Minister Leonid Lakerbay said on Saturday.

He called on the ministers and agencies to continue the work.

“We should work to meet the interests of the population. We reached understanding with the opponents. In my view, everyone understands that we should make the state viable,” Lakerbay said.

“Despite certain incidents the situation in Abkhazia remains stable,” Interior Minister Otar Khetsiya said.

Police ensures law and order. “Policemen work as usual in all cities and districts, with the exception of Sukhum, where police are on high alert,” he said.

Lakerbay thanked the Interior Ministry and all law enforcers for doing their best to avoid serious consequences.

Earlier, Abkhazia’s law enforcers said they supported the legitimately elected president and “come against unconstitutional methods that destabilise the situation”.

Abkhazia’s political crisis erupted on Tuesday with a rally in Sukhum, where several thousand opposition protesters accused the president of using authoritarian styles in state governance and demanded resignation of the government, prosecutor general and heads of the country’s eastern regions. Next day, a rally of the government’s supporters took up the protests.

On Thursday, the opposition announced “the formation of a coalition government of trust and people’s concord” and demanded from the authorities they must continue the trend for a peaceful settlement of the situation in compliance with the constitution.

The parties in the conflict began a direct dialogue after involvement of the Russian mediation: presidential aide Vladislav Surkov visited Abkhazia, where he had meetings with President Ankvab and his ministers as well as with representatives of the opposition.

The republic’s parliament called on the parties to launch a dialogue. Russia, in its turn, confirmed the recent events were exclusively a home affair of sovereign Abkhazia.

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Conflict in Abkhazia

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