Ex-minister of Defence of Georgia asserts that Ankvab cooperated with Georgian party during war in Abkhazia

Tengiz Kitovani, ex-head of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Georgia, said in his interview to the newspaper "Moskovskaya Pravda" that Alexander Ankvab, Vice-President of Abkhazia, allegedly cooperated with Georgian authorities during the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict in 1992-1993. Mr Ankvab has categorically refuted Kitovani's accusations calling them "bedtime stories".

The above interview was published on August 12 and later posted on the YouTube.

A group of war veterans, who support another presidential candidate – Prime Minister Sergey Shamba, addressed, in this context, the acting president of the Republic of Abkhazia Nugzar Ashuba and General Public Prosecutor Safarbei Mikanba with a demand to hold an inquiry into Ankvab's activities during the pre-war and war period.

On Monday, August 15, in the evening, several hundreds persons gathered in the garden of the Abkhazian State Philharmonic Society to watch the film with Kitovani's interview.

According to journalist Inal Khashig, supporters of presidential candidate Sergey Shamba are actively using discrediting materials for building the "anti-Ankvab" coalition. The journalist believes that the PR-technologies that arrived to Abkhazia from Russia "have launched the conveyor of rumours and slander, which have gradually squeezed the candidates' contest of ideas and political programmes out of the public environment".

"We can't understand the behaviour of some of our opponents. To elect the President of Abkhazia based on the interview of the war criminal, who commanded the occupation of Abkhazia and whose arms are in blood of our guys, is inadmissible," said Konstantin Kvitsiniya, chairman of the board of elders of the Ochamchira District.

"Today, those persons, who had killed us, appear in the press and try by all means to set our people against each other. We should not yield to these provocations. Mr Ankvab's patriotism was proved by his actions and his care of the people. I'm sure that he and Mikhail Logua (candidate for vice-president) will honestly serve their people," said the father of Chakhut Bebiya, who perished in the war.

On August 13, at a joint press conference of three presidential candidates Alexander Ankvab said that he treated all what happened "philosophically and extremely calmly".