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GEORGIA WON'T SEND LAW-ENFORCERS INTO ADZHARIA ON EXPIRATION OF TEN-DAY ULTIMATUM - AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA

MOSCOW, May 3 (RIA Novosti) - Georgia will not send law-enforcement forces into the Adzharian autonomy upon expiration of the ten-day ultimatum issued by the central government Monday, Konstantin Kemularia, Georgian Ambassador to Russia, said in a live interview on Ekho Moskvy radio station.

The deadline has been set to bring Adzharia back into Georgia's constitutional framework, the diplomat said. "No one's going to use force, either in ten days or twenty," he added.

Mr. Kemularia said he was confident that constitutional solutions to the conflict would eventually be found. "Tbilisi is making every effort to resolve the situation as the population is suffering," he said.

The ambassador described Adzharia as a "pro-Georgian" region. Attesting to this is the fact that a majority of the Adzharian voters supported incumbent President Mikheil Sakashvili in the latest presidential polls, he said.

Adzharia has "serious opposition, who won't have their rights infringed upon," Mr. Kemularia said. He expects internal political forces opposing Adzharian leader Aslan Abashidze to bring to an end the standoff between him and the central government.

Georgia will provide humanitarian aid for Adzharia in the event of a humanitarian catastrophe, the ambassador assured. "The population of Adzharia is on the brink of a humanitarian disaster," he said, adding that Georgia must help because the autonomy is not self-sufficient, but depends heavily on other Georgian regions for life support. Part of Adzharia's food import comes from its southern neighbor, Turkey, but most of the food staples have traditionally been brought from Georgia, the diplomat said.

By blowing up bridges linking Adzharia with the rest of Georgia, Abashidze has disrupted trade between the Adzharians and their partners elsewhere in the country, Mr. Kemularia remarked. At the moment, Adzharia can be reached only by air. Luckily, Tbilisi-Batumi airliners continue flying according to schedule.

Mr. Kemularia does not rule out the possibility of placing the Adzharian leader under arrest if he fails to take any measures to disarm his militia. Abashidze's entourage consists of thugs who blow up bridges, dispel peaceful demonstrations, and commit other crimes, he said, but assured that Tbilisi was not contemplating liquidation of the Adzharian leader.