MOSCOW, May 28 (RIA Novosti) - A top Abkhaz security official said Wednesday he sees no evidence of a link between the so-called coup attempt in the self-proclaimed republic and the ongoing political crisis in Ukraine.
"I think this is not connected. They [opposition] have long ago attempted this. By the way, the Ukrainian events somehow slowed them down," Abkhaz Security Council Secretary Nugzar Ashuba told RIA Novosti.
He expressed hope that Abkhazia will not be hit by violence similar to that in Ukraine, where bloody battles have been ongoing since the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych in February.
"I do not want a repetition of these events here," Ashuba said.
On Tuesday, the Abkhaz opposition staged a rally near the government offices in the capital Sukhumi, demanding the resignation of President Aleksandr Ankvab and the government.
The heads of security agencies in Abkhazia issued a joint statement saying they support the legitimate president.
The Abkhaz leader called the events "an armed coup attempt," adding that authorities are taking steps to stabilize the situation.
Abkhazia broke away from Georgia following an ethnically tinged war in 1992-93, just after the Soviet collapse. More than a decade later, in 2008, Russia formally recognized the province as independent following a brief war with Tbilisi over another disputed Georgian region, South Ossetia. Many Abkhaz citizens have Russian passports.
