President of the self-proclaimed republic of Abkhazia Sergei Bagapsh believes that Sochi (March 6-7, 2003) Agreements must provide the basis for negotiations with Georgia

President of the self-proclaimed republic of Abkhazia Sergei Bagapsh believes that Sochi (March 6-7, 2003) Agreements must provide the basis for negotiations with Georgia, he said during a Saturday press conference in the capital of the mutinous province, which broke away from Georgia in the beginning of the 1990s in the wake of a bloody armed conflict. "We have come up with several initiatives, and I think they will be coordinated with our supporters. It will be great if the Georgian side accepts them. The important thing is we announced our readiness to conduct the talks. We should use the Sochi agreements as a basis for negotiations, including the issue of refugees (the number of Georgian refugees from Abkhazia, according to various accounts, constitutes about 300,000 people, and the so-called Supreme Council (parliament) of the autonomous republic of Abkhazia in exile continues to perform its functions in Tbilisi)," Mr. Bagapsh stated. He said that the agenda of the renewed negotiation process would focus on economic, energy and railroad transportation issues. "The railroad transportation is not only a priority for Abkhazia. Aside from economic progress it means contacts and ties between people who are going to work in this sphere. It is beneficial for Georgia, Abkhazia and Armenia both in economic and political terms," Mr. Bagapsh stated (because of the interruption of railroad transportation through Abkhazian territory, the ferry connection between the Russian port Kavkaz (on the coast of the Kerch Strait, the Taman peninsula, the Krasnodar territory) and the Georgian port of Poti gains special importance. Cargo ferried to the port of Poti is later transported by railway to Armenia).