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Shevardnadze offers to hold talks

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW NOV. 23. Russia has assumed the role of mediator in a deepening political crisis in Georgia, with the Russian Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov, shuttling between the beleaguered Georgian President, Eduard Shevardnadze, and Opposition leaders at the weekend in a desperate attempt to find a political settlement to the three-week stand-off in the Caucasian republic of 4 million.

After a 24-hour shuttle diplomacy by Mr. Ivanov, signs of a compromise appeared for the first time in a three-week crisis triggered off by the Nov. 2 parliamentary poll. Mr. Shevardnadze said today he was ready to discuss Opposition demands, including early parliamentary and presidential election, and Opposition leaders agreed to talks.

The crisis broke out after authorities awarded victory in the parliamentary poll to a pro-Government party and its allies. The Opposition said the vote had been rigged and demanded that Mr. Shevardnadze step down and new elections be held. Thousands of Opposition supporters stormed the Parliament building on Saturday, forcing Mr. Shevardnadze to flee to his well-guarded residence outside the capital Tbilisi.

On Sunday, Opposition leaders claimed victory in what they described as a "velvet revolution" and declared the outgoing Parliament Speaker, Nino Burdzhanadze, acting President. Mr. Shevardnadze called it an attempted "coup d'etat" and declared a state of emergency in the country. Armoured vehicles rolled into Tbilisi on Saturday night, but the army did not interfere and the city was in the hands of the Opposition.

Mr. Shevardnadze's grip on power seems to be slipping as the head of the National Security Council joined the Opposition today. Several military and police units also crossed the lines.

Mr. Ivanov was dispatched to Tbilisi on behalf of the Commonwealth of Independent States after the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, discussed the crisis yesterday with the current Chairman of the 12-nation CIS, the President of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma. In a statement issued on Saturday, the CIS denounced Opposition moves to seize power in Georgia as "unconstitutional" and "unacceptable". Russia has come to Mr. Shevardnadze's rescue despite the fact that relations between Moscow and Tbilisi have been strained in recent years.

After a series of separate meetings with Mr. Shevardnadze and the Opposition leaders, Mr. Ivanov said today that he was trying to arrange direct talks between the two sides to resolve the crisis.

Mr. Shevardnadze said, "All issues could be discussed, including the speeding up of the presidential election, or the repeat of the parliamentary vote" after the Opposition vacated the Parliament building and other premises they had seized.

For her part, the Opposition leader, Ms. Burdzhanadze, said that if Mr. Shevardnadze called new elections, "this will defuse the situation and may save him from resignation even though the majority of people want him to step down".

The U.S. has turned its back on Mr. Shevardnadze, who has been Washington's closest ally in the Caucasus. In a series of statements, Washington condemned the Georgian election as unfair and undemocratic.

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