MOSCOW/SUKHUMI. Aug 2 (Interfax-AVN) - Sukhumi would resort to military measures in order "to prevent further terrorist acts" by Georgia in Abkhaz territorial waters, Vyacheslav Eshba, the defense minister of the self-proclaimed republic of Abkhazia.
He did not say what measures would be taken, stating that "everyone will know about them soon."
Eshba said that "the Abkhaz military made a mistake by failing to operatively react to the demonstration of piracy, and conclusions will be made, the security of Abkhaz waters will be strengthened."
He said that, last Wednesday, a Georgian coastguards' boat entered Abkhazia's territorial waters and fired at a Turkish cargo ship that was travelling to Sukhumi.
"We look upon that as an act of armed aggression, and in relation to this, the Abkhaz prime minister declared that Sukhumi's participation in the negotiations process will be halted," Eshba said.
Abkhazia, like South Ossetia, is legally a province of Georgia, but a conflict in the 1990s led to its de facto independence. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has called on Abkhazia and South Ossetia to restore ties with Tbilisi, but these proposals have been rejected.
Saakashvili has promised that his triumph over the separatist leader of Ajaria, another internal republic of Georgia, will be followed by the restoration of control over the breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.