SUKHUMI, May 17 (AVN) - The official Sukhumi refuted the statement of the White Legion Georgian nationalist movement commander Zurab Samushia saying that the Abkhazian authorities are expecting Chechen president Aslan Maskhadov and warlord Shamil Basayev, a source in the administration of Abkhazian leader Vladislav Ardzinba told the Military News Agency.
According to him, neither Maskhadov nor Basayev turned to Sukhumi authorities with the request to receive them in the territory of the republic.
The administration does not exclude the visit of Chechen leaders via unofficial channels. Shamil Basayev fought on the Sukhumi side during the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict of 1992-1993 and has a lot of friends in Abkhazia.
Zurab Samushia told the Agency that he received the information from a well-informed source in Maskhadov's administration. He also added that there were a lot of Chechen militants in Abkhazia who had crossed the border with weapons in hand.