Abkhaz leader Sergey Bagapsh reiterated his readiness to hold direct talks with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili only if the Georgian side demonstrates its commitment to confidence-building measures and if Tbilisi follows the “already signed agreements.”
 
“If the agreements on demilitarization of [Tbilisi-controlled upper] Kodori Gorge is not fulfilled, if terrorist acts still occur in the Gali district [of breakaway Abkhazia], it is senseless to sit at the table of negotiations,” Bagapsh said in a statement posted on his official web-site on January 30.

Georgia says it only has police forces in upper Kodori Gorge to provide security.

The Abkhaz leader also stressed that mutual confidence is a key condition for resuming negotiations between the conflicting sides.
 
“I offer the Georgian side to sign an agreement on non-resumption of hostilities; I offer the Georgian side to demonstrate its aspirations for peace not in words but in deed. Then, we will have good prospects for an effective dialogue,” the Abkhaz leader said.