Abkhazia’s President Sergei Bagapsh has met with US Ambassador John Tefft, discussing the resumption of talks with Georgia.

Below is an article published by Civil.ge:

John Tefft, the U.S. ambassador to Georgia, visited Sokhumi on May 23 and held talks with the leadership of breakaway Abkhazia.

Sergey Bagapsh, the Abkhaz leader, told the U.S. ambassador that Sokhumi would resume talks with Tbilisi only after the Georgian side had pulled out its forces and its “puppet government” from the Tbilsi-controlled upper Kodori Gorge of Abkhazia, the Abkhaz news agency, Apsnipress, reported.

“None of the mediators – neither the Group of Friends of the UN Secretary General, nor European structures will convince us to resume the negotiating process, unless these conditions are met,” Apsnipress quoted Bagapsh as saying.

According to the report, the Abkhaz leader also complained about the U.S.'s “biased stance” which was supposedly demonstrated by its refusal to grant an entry visa to the Abkhaz foreign minister, Sergey Shamba, whom Russia had wanted to address the UN Security Council in April.

During the visit Ambassador Tefft also met with Abkhaz Prime Minister Alexander Ankvab and Foreign Minister Sergey Shamba.