Georgian Minister for Conflict Resolution Giorgi Khaindrava condemned the military maneuvers that commenced in Abkhazia\'s Ochamchira Raion on 15 August as a gross violation of existing agreements, and he appealed to the Russian peacekeeping force deployed in the conflict zone to intervene to stop them. Some 6,000 army, navy, and air-force personnel and reservists are taking part in the exercises, which according to Republic of Abkhazia Defense Minister Lieutenant General Sultan Sosnaliev are intended to demonstrate how prepared the unrecognized republic is to repel any aggression. In an interview in the June, No.23, issue of the newspaper \"Severnyi Kavkaz,\" published in Nalchik, Sosnaliev stressed that Abkhazia is systematically strengthening its armed forces purely for defensive purposes, and he expressed concern at Georgia\'s ongoing military buildup. (Caucasus Press)