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Abkhazia President Sergei Bagapsh dies at 62
May 29, 2011 - 15:47 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net -
Abkhazia President died in a Moscow hospital on Sunday, May 29 from
complications after lung surgery, Abkhaz officials said.
Sergei Bagapsh, 62, in power since 2005, won a second five-year term
in 2009 as president of Abkhazia, which won Russian recognition of its
proclaimed independence after a brief Russian-Georgian war.
"I spoke to him three days ago. The president was already up and
about, but two days ago his condition worsened unexpectedly. He lost
consciousness," his spokesman Christian Bzhania told Russian state
television.
"The doctors did everything in their power," he said. After the
operation, doctors had discovered Bagapsh also had cancer.
A black ribbon was tied to the Abkhaz flag flying over the province's
embassy in Moscow on Sunday and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
offered his condolences. "Bagapsh was a loyal supporter of friendship
and alliance with Russia, and he tirelessly worked to deepen close
bilateral ties between our countries," Medvedev said in a statement on
the Kremlin's website.
Bagapsh's deputy, Alexander Ankvab, 58, will take over as acting
president, and new elections will be held within three months
according to the region's constitution. "We are profoundly shocked by
Sergei Bagapsh's death," Ankvab told Interfax news agency. "This is a
great loss for the Abkhaz people," he said, Reuters reported.
From: A. Papazian
May 29, 2011 - 15:47 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net -
Abkhazia President died in a Moscow hospital on Sunday, May 29 from
complications after lung surgery, Abkhaz officials said.
Sergei Bagapsh, 62, in power since 2005, won a second five-year term
in 2009 as president of Abkhazia, which won Russian recognition of its
proclaimed independence after a brief Russian-Georgian war.
"I spoke to him three days ago. The president was already up and
about, but two days ago his condition worsened unexpectedly. He lost
consciousness," his spokesman Christian Bzhania told Russian state
television.
"The doctors did everything in their power," he said. After the
operation, doctors had discovered Bagapsh also had cancer.
A black ribbon was tied to the Abkhaz flag flying over the province's
embassy in Moscow on Sunday and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
offered his condolences. "Bagapsh was a loyal supporter of friendship
and alliance with Russia, and he tirelessly worked to deepen close
bilateral ties between our countries," Medvedev said in a statement on
the Kremlin's website.
Bagapsh's deputy, Alexander Ankvab, 58, will take over as acting
president, and new elections will be held within three months
according to the region's constitution. "We are profoundly shocked by
Sergei Bagapsh's death," Ankvab told Interfax news agency. "This is a
great loss for the Abkhaz people," he said, Reuters reported.
From: A. Papazian