Viacheslav Tsugba - Prime Minister

Prime Minister

After Vladislav Ardzinba's re-election as President, Viacheslav Tsugba was appointed Prime Minister on 20 December 1999.

Tsugba's time as Prime Minister was marked by a relative thawing of tensions between Abkhazia and Georgia. While Tsugba, like all the other Prime Ministers, strongly opposed any idea of reunification with Georgia, and highly criticised cross-border raids by Georgian paramilitaries, he managed to demilitarise the conflict to a degree. This was highlighted by an agreement signed in July 2000, where both sides agreed not to settle the conflict by force. He tended to negotiate alongside foreign minister Sergei Shamba, rather than handling negotiations himself.

In the first months of 2001, Tsugba was increasingly criticised by the opposition, led by the Amtsakhara movement. On 15 May 2001 Tsugba handed in his resignation. This remained secret for two weeks, and rumours that Tsugba had handed in his resignation which surfaced towards the end of May were denied by the President's press spokesman Raul Agrba. But on 30 May, President Ardzinba accepted Tsugba's resignation.

In his resignation request, Tsugba's explanation was that "serious problems have arisen in connection with lawmaking, the professional qualifications of personnel at all levels of administration, from the highest to the lowest, with their accountability and the need to improve management and increase strict control and institute an uncompromising fight against crime."