From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 7/25/2006 7:37 AM RIA Novosti Georgia refuses to rule out force in spat with Abkhazia gorge
25/07/2006 13:41
TBILISI, July 25 (RIA Novosti) - Georgia's authorities hope to resolve a conflict peacefully in a gorge on the border with the self-proclaimed republic of Abkhazia but are not ruling out the use of force, a high-ranking government source said Tuesday.
The source said talks with Emzar Kvitsiani, former President Eduard Shevardnadze's envoy to the Kodori Gorge, were expected to start in two hours.
But if no agreement is reached, Georgian authorities will use Interior Ministry troops to restore order in the gorge, he said.
The source also denied reports on the deployment of Georgian troops near the border with Abkhazia.
On Sunday, Kvitsiani said Defense Ministry troops were going to enter the area, which is the de facto border between Georgia and Abkhazia, on July 27. He said they would seek to disarm former members of the Hunter border guard battalion, which was formally disbanded in 2005, though most members refused to lay down their arms.
Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli categorically ruled out earlier on Tuesday any negotiations with Kvitsiani, whom he labeled "a traitor."
Kvitsiani, who was fired as envoy when Saakashvili and his West-leaning government came to power in 2003 and was dismissed from the armed forces on orders from Defense Minister Irakly Okruashvili two years later, had invited Nogaideli, State Minister on Economic Reform Kakhaber Bendukidze and parliamentarian Giorgi Bokeria for talks. All of them rejected the proposal.
Russian daily Kommersant reported Tuesday that Kvitsiani had made political demands. He said he was ready to talk peace with Tbilisi if the defense minister and interior minister, known as "hawks" in the Georgian government, were dismissed. He threatened to stage mass protests and seek early parliamentary elections if his demands were not met.
On Tuesday, Kvitsiani is scheduled to meet with elders from the South Caucasus state who are expected to try to persuade him to give up the idea of an armed confrontation. The former envoy has promised to refrain from any action until after the meeting.
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