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Tbilisi Denounces Talks Between Putin, Breakaway Abkhaz Leader


Aleksandr Ankvab (left), leader of Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia, with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi in May 2012.
Aleksandr Ankvab (left), leader of Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia, with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi in May 2012.
TBILISI -- Georgia’s foreign minister has denounced planned talks in Moscow between the leader of Georgia's breakaway province of Abkhazia, Aleksandr Ankvab, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Talking to journalists in Tbilisi on March 12, Maya Panjikidze said "any step directed against Georgia's territorial integrity deserves our serious concerns and criticism."

Ankvab, who started his working visit to Moscow on March 11, was scheduled to hold talks with Putin later the next day.

Russia recognized Abkhazia and another Georgian other breakaway region, South Ossetia, as independent states after a five-day war between Russia and Georgia in August 2008.

Georgia considers the two regions as integral parts of its territory.

With additional reporting by Interfax

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