TBILISI, May 17 (RIA Novosti) - Georgia and its breakaway province of Abkhazia must be given the opportunity to resolve their long-running conflict independently, a deputy speaker of the Georgian parliament said Wednesday.

A bloody conflict between the sides erupted in 1991 after Abkhazia declared independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Russia cultivates close ties with the breakaway region, has granted citizenship to many residents and maintains peacekeepers in the area.

But Dzhemal Inaishvili, commenting on a new Abkhazian peacekeeping plan, said: "The problem must be addressed by the Georgians and Abkhazians themselves. A third party who is trying to mediate the negotiations is in fact the initiator of the conflict."

He said the mediator was stalling the conflict resolution process in a thinly veiled reference to Russia.

"We have lived with the Abkhazians for thousands of years, and must deal with the problem ourselves," Inaishvili said.

The deputy speaker ruled out that Georgia would ever recognize Abkhazia's independence.

"They [the Abkhazians] know this very well. The longer they refuse to agree to our proposals, the longer the problem will remain unresolved," he said.

Inaishvili said the impasse over the status of the self-proclaimed republic had to be broken peacefully and called on Abkhazia to agree to Georgia's proposals, which would pave the way for Abkhazia enjoying a great degree of autonomy within Georgia.