SUKHUM. March 2 (Interfax) - Minsk could become host talks over security in South Caucasus, the Abkhaz leader said.
"Minsk could become a neutral place where we would be able to hold discussions over security in South Caucasus. This is one area of work that we need to advance," Aslan Bzhania told reporters in Sukhum on Thursday.
"The Geneva discussions over South Caucasus stability and security have recently been postponed several times. Besides, in the current climate, Geneva can hardly be regarded as a neutral place. By contrast, Minsk, having more than once acted as a platform for talks over many complex international issues, could become one instead of the Geneva discussions," Bzhaniya said.
On whether there were discussions over his republic's joining the Russia-Belarus Union State, Bzhania said: "We have not been formally invited yet but I think membership of such a union could be considered in the future. But that is in future."
If it joins the Union State, Abkhazia would retain its sovereignty and independence, he said.