Abkhaz officials say the prime minister of Georgia's separatist region of Abkhazia has survived an assassination attempt.
Authorities say the motorcade of Prime Minister Alexander Ankvab came under fire outside Sukhumi late Monday. Officials say he was not riding in his usual vehicle, which was riddled with bullets.
Mr. Ankvab blamed criminals for the attack and said it had nothing to do with the political situation in the region. He pledged to continue to fight crime.
Russia's Foreign Ministry condemned the attack as an attempt to destabilize the region and hurt chances for a settlement with the central Georgian government.
Abkhazia has run its own affairs since 1993 and has close ties with Russia. The area recently overcame months of political uncertainty from a disputed presidential election.
Georgian officials have vowed to bring the area back under central government control.
Some information for this report provided by AP.