MOSCOW. July 25 (Interfax) - Abkhazia hopes to improve bilateral relations with Georgia someday but will not trade its independence, Abkhaz Prime Minister Sergei Shamba told the Ekho Moskvy radio.
"We hope to improve relations with Georgia when Georgia is prepared for being an equal partner in the dialog," he said.
The conflict with Georgia derives from claims "of the Georgian society and administration" on Abkhaz lands, Shamba said.
"We will be ready to converse when they realize that they need friendly relations with Abkhazia," he said.
"So far, Georgian authorities have blocked the road to dialog with the adoption of the law on occupied lands," he said.
"We are not an occupied land. We invited Russian forces here on the basis of an agreement between our states. The Russian base is staying in Abkhazia on legal grounds to protect our security," he said.
"The pullout of Russian forces as a dialog precondition is simply not discussed," Shamba said.
The threat coming from Georgia was the biggest concern of the Abkhaz public in the past, but "the threat moved away. That is a great achievement of politicians who recognized our independence and signed agreements with Abkhazia," he said.
Abkhazia will be ready to negotiate with Georgia when the Georgian administration takes the current situation more realistically. "So far, Georgia does not have a realistic view of the regional events," he said.
Abkhazia was always prepared for compromises with Georgia and offered various ways of settling relations, he said.