Abkhaz Separatist Leader Urges Protesters To Leave Parliament, Pledges Resignation

The leader of the Moscow-backed Abkhazia region said on November 16 that he would step down if protesters leave the parliament compound. A day earlier, demonstrators against an investment agreement with Moscow stormed the parliament in Sukhumi, the administrative center of the Georgian breakaway territory. The protesters fear the deal will increase property prices. Aslan Bzhania, whom Russia recognizes as the president of Abkhazia, addressed supporters in his native village, Tamysh.