ABKHAZIA TO REGAIN AUTONOMY: GEORGIAN PREMIER

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MOSCOW, May 25 (Arseni Oganesyan, RIA Novosti analyst) - The Georgian top is determined to grant Abkhazia extensive political autonomy, Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania announced to a news conference in Moscow this afternoon.

President Mikhail Saakashvili of Georgia is expected to make a related public statement within a few days. "That will be a serious statement on peaceful conflict settlement and far-reaching autonomy," said Georgia's Premier.

Certain media outlets allege a similarity of the Abkhaz and Adzhar issues, and forecast their settlement on similar patterns. That's all wrong, pointed out Mr. Zhvania. "To fling on Abkhazia after Adzharia is the last thing we Georgians want. The conflict must be settled proceeding from Georgia's territorial integrity-that's all," he said.

Many Russian nationals live in Abkhazia. They present no big problem, whatever might be said-even despite heated debates of some time ago on urgent Russian ID issuance in Georgia. "The matter was out of the spirit of Georgian-Russian relations. Nevertheless, we don't think that the many Russian nationals resident in Abkhazia are making a bad problem," remarked the Premier.

Russia and Georgia are doing what they can for mutual friendship and partnership, and to avoid frontier issues. The present state of bilateral contacts promises success to settlement plans.

The Pankisi Gorge, along the Russian-Georgian frontier on its Chechen stretch, may offer problems. The area is a Chechen bandit hideaway, suspects Russia, what with a Chechen kinship with a local majority. Joint Russian-Chechen patrols ought to keep the spot in control, insists Russia-an unnecessary arrangement for today, says Zurab Zhvania. The two countries' secret service teamwork is what the situation really demands, especially in the anti-terror cause. Such teamwork has lately been smooth and efficient.

"Current trade and other economic contacts are quite satisfactory," the Premier went on. Tbilisi, Georgian capital, will host a maiden Russian business conference, May 27. He expects it to give these contacts a mighty impetus, all the more so considering who will be Russian spokesman. That will be German Gref, federal Minister of Economic Development and Trade. He is sure to make an impressive public introduction of Russian business.

As he came over to summing up his visit to Russia, the Prime Minister said: "It carried on policies the Russian and Georgian presidents blueprinted in last February's summitry, which made a general outline of future bilateral relations. Heartfelt mutual confidence underlies those contacts." As he appeared in Moscow, Mr. Zhvania intended to discuss a wide range of essential issues-the prospects to step up security contacts, settle the Abkhaz conflict by peaceful means, and promote bilateral trade and other economic links. He met at the negotiation table with the host country's Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov; Sergei Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Igor Ivanov, national Security Council Secretary. The visitor found the talks outspoken and of interest.

He is now to hold conference with bosses of Russia's oil-and-gas mammoths LUKoil and ITERA, added Zurab Zhvania.

Certain analysts do not share his optimism on Abkhaz prospects. They doubt the self-proclaimed republic (one of Georgia's two-Abkhazia and South Ossetia) will sheepishly accept autonomy. After all, it will not make a gain but merely come back onto its own-Abkhaz autonomy was cancelled by then President Eduard Shevardnadze's decree in the early 1990s.

The Abkhaz situation is even more complicated than the Adzhar: Adzhars are ethnic Georgians, while the Abkhaz are an ethnic entity on its own, related to Russia's North Caucasians, and with no linguistic kinship to Georgian. A lack of affinity brought sanguinary clashes in which the North Caucasian kith joined the Abkhaz to come out in arms against Georgia.

With all that, Abkhazia will surely prove a much harder nut than Adzharia. But then, Moscow's assistance can make things easier, what with the respect in which the Abkhaz have held Russians for centuries-to say nothing of Russian peacekeepers stationed in Abkhazia.

"Georgia will not settle the Abkhaz issue by force." Analysts are all the more hopeful as Zurab Zhvania pledged it at the news conference.

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