SUKHUM, January 9./TASS/. Abkhazian President Raul Khajimba has rejected protesters’ appeal that he step down, handed over to him by a group of parliamentarians amid riots in central Sukhum.

The president dismissed the demand and said it was necessary to take measures to ease the situation, parliamentarian Leonid Chamagua told a parliamentary session on Thursday.

"The president answered that he was not yet ready to make this decision [to step down - TASS]. Time is needed to think about how to defuse the situation," Chamagua told the parliamentary session held after a group of parliamentarians had been dispatched to the president.

Another parliamentarian, Alkhas Dzhindzholiya, said a suggestion had been made for the parties to sit down at the negotiating table. "The president is ready for any negotiations," he went on to say.