10 November 2003, 12:04
Shevardnadze's meeting with opposition activists produced no results
Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze told reporters after meeting with opposition activists on Sunday that the opposition's demands are impossible to fulfill.
"The demands made by the opposition in the meeting were impossible to fulfill, because they were demanding that the elections be invalidated," he said.
As a compromise, he suggested setting up a working group to study electoral violations and settling all problems in court. The president added that "if the opposition wants, the dialogue can be continued."
Mikhail Saakashvili gave his vision of the meeting's results. "Two and a half hours of negotiations yielded no results, because there is no point in continuing to have a dialogue with the president," he said.
Saakashvili believes that "President Shevardnadze is leading Georgia to a civil conflict."
In the meantime, Saakashvili said, "As of today, Shevardnadze, in spite of Russia's guarantee and the support from Ajaria's dictator Abashidze, will not be ale to turn Georgia into a banana republic."
Shevardnadze, in turn, said he "did not receive any guarantees" in his phone conversation with the Russian president. He added he intends to travel to the regions, in particular to Ajaria, on Monday.
Parliamentary chairwoman Nino Burdjanadze, following the opposition's meeting with Shevardnadze, said the president "did not say anything during the meeting except that he will set up some working groups." She told reporters she still expects the president to make "constructive proposals."
Source: Interfax News Agency
