The former president of Abkhazia called the protests in the country an attempted coup d'état

The opposition protests in Abkhazia, during which demonstrators entered the parliament of the republic, were an attempted coup. This was stated by the country's resigned president Aslan Bzhania in a conversation with Izvestia.

"It was an attempted coup attempt. <...> The action was planned, it was organized by a certain part of the opposition. <...> Of course, I will analyze it to understand the underlying reasons for this phenomenon," Bzhania said.

He noted that the protests are not likely to end here, but without his resignation the consequences would be more severe. The former president believes that because of what happened Abkhazia suffered serious reputational damage because many people, including investors, were frightened.

Bzhania noted that protesters were led by different motives, for example, among them there were people who were sincerely mistaken and thought that the course of the president of the republic is allegedly wrong and the country needs to change power. The politician drew attention to the fact that the footage from the demonstrations showed that the demonstrators were not in the mood for dialog. In addition, they used force, although they had no right to do so. This resulted in the seizure of the parliament building complex, but the opposition failed to take power by force.

The former president pointed out that many residents of Abkhazia have weapons under the law, which he himself considers too loyal. If the protests had continued, some of the parties might have "lost their nerve" and it is not known how people would have used their weapons.

Bzhania noted that those who demanded his resignation do not yet have their own program, and their ideas, which the former president himself has heard, coincide with his views.

Bzhania resigned earlier in the day, fulfilling his part of the agreement with the opposition, which he made amid protests in the country. The president's resignation was later accepted by the republic's parliament. Along with Bzhania, Abkhazia's head of government Alexander Ankvab will leave office, but other ministers will remain in place.

Before that, on November 11, clashes took place near the building of the State Security Service of Abkhazia in Sukhumi. Prosecutor General of the republic Adgur Agrba said that operatives detained several people that day and then decided to release them.

Later, on November 15, a protesters' truck broke down a fence gate around the parliament building, some protesters entered the inner territory, and the opposition clashed with police. Bzhania said the next day that he was ready to resign if the protesters left parliament.