TBILISI, March 16 (RIA Novosti) - Chief of the OSCE mission to Georgia Roy Reeve doubts the possibility of holding Georgian parliamentary elections on Adzharian territory (Georgian autonomy). (The elections have been scheduled for March 28.) Roy Reeve said this at a briefing in Tbilisi on Tuesday.
Mr. Reeve believes that negotiations between the central authorities and the autonomy's authorities should be continued to solve the problem.
According to Chairman of Georgia's Central Election Commission Zurab Chiaberashvili, "technically, everything is ready for the elections in the Adzharian election administrations." However, the "current situation in the autonomy does not allow holding free democratic elections." In the past few days, relations between Tbilisi and Batumi have sharply aggravated. On Sunday, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili was not let into Adzharia's territory - his escort was stopped on the administrative border of the autonomy. In reply, the central authorities nearly blockaded the autonomy.
