Abkhaz presidential adviser Astamur Tania and Prime Minister Raul Khadjimba said in Sukhum on 5 and 9 May, respectively, that Abkhazia is ready to resume talks with Georgia within the UN-sponsored Coordinating Council. Abkhazia suspended its participation in such talks last year to protest the deployment of Georgian troops in the divided Kodori Gorge. Khadjimba also said on 9 May that he sees no need to create additional working groups to address problems related to the conflict, as recently suggested by the \"Friends of the UN Secretary-General\" group of states that seek to expedite a solution to the Abkhaz conflict. Speaking in Tbilisi on 9 May, Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister David Aptsiauri expressed concern that recent diplomatic initiatives have focused on the resumption of economic cooperation between Abkhazia and Georgia rather than on promoting a political solution to the conflict on the basis of the UN-drafted \"Basic Principles for the Distribution of Competencies Between Tbilisi and Sukhumi.\" (RFE/RL)