"I insist on all matters settled in a humane, civilized way - not by violence. The use of force was denounced throughout world history - afterwards, if not immediately," he stressed to a news briefing while summing up today's many-hour negotiations in Batumi, Adzharian capital, with Speaker Nino Burdzhanadze of the Georgian parliament.
"I, for my part, have done all I could to put an end to headlong action which would do nothing good for my country," he added.
As Ms. Burdzhanadze and the Adzharian leader agreed during their talks, Mr. Abashidze will meet tomorrow with Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili, who is arriving in Batumi for the purpose.
Aslan Abashidze promises to abolish the present-day state of emergency in Adzharia "in case military vehicles withdraw from the other side of the administrative border, and Georgian law enforcement officers return to base," reports the Novosti/Georgia news agency.
Nino Burdzhanadze, in her turn, hopes tomorrow's talks of President Mikhail Saakashvili with the Adzharian leader will settle many aspects of the crisis. Prospects of Adzharian blockade may be removed from the agenda after the conference, she said.
The Georgian government introduced economic sanctions against Adzharia on President Saakashvili's decision, March 15. They envisage Adzharian government bank accounts blocked, banking transactions suspended throughout the autonomy, and closure of the Batumi seaport and airport, and a customs checkpoint on the Georgian-Turkish frontier in Sarpi. The sanctions aim to block finance inflows to the autonomy authorities, and prevent arms and armored vehicles smuggled into Adzharia.
The current crisis flared up as a group of armed people blocked the road to a presidential motorcade, March 14, while President Mikhail Saakashvili sought to enter the republic across its administrative border along the river Choloki.
