Zhvania, Abashidze Fail to Agree on Elections

State Minister Zurab Zhvania and head of the Adjara Autonomous Republic Aslan Abashidze held 4-hour long talks in Batumi, however no particular agreement has been reached. Both of them hailed the talks and pledged to continue dialogue.

At the joint news briefing with Zurab Zhvania, Aslan Abashidze said that the central authorities should “return processes in Tbilisi in frames of the constitution.”

Aslan Abashidze denounced the country’s new leadership, which took over the power after the velvet revolution, as “illegitimate” and threatened to boycott January 4 snap presidential elections, if the new leadership refuses to postpone elections until June.

“I came here in order to achieve new level of cooperation between the central authorities and the Adjarian leadership. And we are moving forward in this direction. We really should offer [to the Adjarian authorities] arguments based on constitution,” Zurab Zhvania said.

Both, Zurab Zhvania and Aslan Abashidze, categorically ruled possibility of Adjara’s secession from Georgia.

“The myth about Adjara’s separatist tendencies faded away,” Zhvania said.

The talks between Aslan Abashidze and Nino Burjanadze, the Interim President of Georgia on December 10 ended with almost the similar results. The both sides welcomed talks and pledged to continue dialogue; however no particular decision has been reached.