OUTLINE OF GEORGIAN-ABKHAZ COMPROMISE DISCLOSED.

Ignoring a vow of confidentiality, Abkhaz leader Vladislav Ardzinba and Supreme Soviet deputies have in the last three days exchanged public recriminations over a proposed Georgian-Abkhaz settlement, and in the process revealed some of its terms. A protocol under discussion at Russian and UN-mediated negotiations in Moscow provides inter alia for: an Abkhaz republic with its own constitution, legislature, government, and budget; a common Georgian-Abkhaz government and legislature, with reserved Abkhaz seats and right of veto; a joint defense policy involving coordination of two armies, Georgian and Abkhaz; and a common currency. Abkhaz Supreme Soviet deputies have rejected the protocol and accused Ardzinba and the delegation in Moscow of "treason" for negotiating on this basis; but Ardzinba maintains that the critics are in the minority. (17)

The terms as disclosed seek a compromise between the two entrenched positions that have existed until now: Tbilisi’s offer of a federal setup, and the Abkhaz demand for a confederal (and no more than symbolic) association with Georgia. The eventual outcome will probably hinge primarily on the question of the Abkhaz army and the solution to the problem of Georgian refugees from Abkhazia.

Azerbaijan Holds Out Political Status for Karabakh.