SUKHUMI. March 7 (Interfax-AVN) - Abkhazian naval forces will not tolerate a maritime blockade of the republic.
"Armed clashes are unavoidable if Georgian border guards attempt to check vessels heading for Abkhazia," Abkhazian Vice President Valery Arshba told Interfax-Military News Agency on Friday.
He said that "Georgia has long tried to block Abkhazia from the sea but has failed so far."
Lieutenant General Valery Chkheidze, Chairman, Georgian Border Guard Department, had said previously that vessels heading for Abkhazian ports would be checked by Georgian border guards and customs officers in the port of Poti.