SUKHUM, May 29 /ITAR-TASS/. Russian president's aide Vladislav Surkov met with Abkhazian President Alexander Ankvab on Wednesday to discuss the political crisis in the republic.
Surkov also met with opposition leaders Raul Khadzhimba, Sergei Shamba, Akhra Bzhaniya and Vitaly Gabniya, as well as with people's deputies. The meeting in the parliament's building was held behind closed doors. Ankvab's spokeswoman Marina Bganba told Itar-Tass that she was unable to provide details.
Last Tuesday, the opposition gathered thousands of people in central Sukhum demanding the resignation of the government, the prosecutor general and heads of the republic's eastern districts.
After unsuccessful talks with the president, opposition leader Raul Khadizmba announced that the Coordinating Council of the opposition parties and organizations would act as a caretaker government.
The Abkhazian president accused the opposition of government overthrow attempt. He noted that there was still a chance to steer the situation into the legal framework.
Journalists of the Abkhazian State Television and Radio Company (AGTRK) said in a statement on Wednesday they could not cover events in the republic. "A large number of strangers in the AGTRK building and on company premises, together with opposition representatives are interfering with television broadcasting," journalists said. "The society is awaiting objective information from us, but we're abandoned, unprotected."
On Wednesday, Abkhazian judges called for preventing the actions that violated the Abkhazian Constitution. They urged negotiations to stop the country's further downslide into legal chaos and coordination of the measures to settle the political contradictions peacefully.
"The memory of the heroes who gave their lives for our states commits us to it," republican judges said in a statement.
Speaking before thousands of supporters of the incumbent authorities on Wednesday, Abkhazian Prime Minister Leonid Lakerbaya called for returning the situation into legal framework. The authorities succeeded in preventing catastrophic consequences for the republic on May 27, he told the rally staged by Amtsakhara, a pro-government party.
"The most important thing in all yesterday’s events was that it was possible to avoid bloodshed," the premier said citing Ankvab's statement at a session of the Abkhazian Security Council.