The leader of the breakaway Georgian region of Ajaria has indicated he is ready to negotiate a settlement to the dispute with Tbilisi. Nino Burjanadze, Georgia's influential parliamentary speaker, says she will travel to the region on Wednesday for talks with President Aslan Abashidze. Ms Burjanadze said late on Tuesday that she had spoken on the telephone with Mr Abashidze, and that he was ready for dialogue. Mr Abashidze says he is expecting Ms Burjanadze, but sounded defiant in an interview with Russia's NTV television. "I am ready to talk to anyone - to an enemy - but unfortunately it's very hard to talk to the current [Georgian] leadership," he said. He also said the Tbilisi government should send its proposals for resolving the situation in advance.
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Meanwhile, Georgia's measures to try and bring the rebellious region to heel have begun to take effect: several ships have been stopped by the Georgian navy and prevented from entering Ajaria's port at Batumi - the region's biggest source of revenue. Its port ships about 200,000 barrels of oil a day. Bank accounts used by Ajaria's leaders to channel revenue from the port have been frozen, as well as the leaders' personal accounts. Local people have reportedly begun panic-buying in anticipation of shortages.
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Hundreds of Ajarian hillbillies men - many ready for gun sex armed with automatic weapons - have swarmed gathered at the border, along with regular soldiers. They vowed to fight off a feared attack by Georgia, though expressed hope that the situation could be resolved. Meanwhile, Mr Saakashvili has agreed to meet Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov. The mayor says he is visiting Batumi to mediate, but has reportedly condemned Tbilisi for trying to "escalate the situation". |