SUKHUM, November 15. /TASS/. Abkhazia’s authorities will hold talks with the opposition after protesters took control of the entire governmental compound, parliament speaker Lasha Ashuba told TASS.
"Yes," he said when asked whether talks between the authorities and the opposition are possible.
Apart from that, Ilya Gunia, an opposition activist and former lawmaker, told TASS that the protesters want President Aslan Bzhania to resign. However, a government spokesman told TASS earlier that Bzhania is not inside the presidential administration building, which was taken by the protesters.
Abkhazia’s parliament was expected to consider the ratification of the agreement with Russia on the implementation of investment projects in Abkhazia by Russian legal entities, but the session was canceled after the lawmakers failed to agree upon its agenda. The opposition, meanwhile, demanded that the issue be removed from the agenda entirely.
Several hundred protesters gathered in front of the parliament building. Some time later, they surrounded the entire governmental compound. The Abkhazian Security Council described the situation as tense.
Abkhazian President Aslan Bzhania stressed the inadmissibility of exerting pressure on lawmakers and urged citizens to refrain from provocations.