The duties of the President of Abkhazia in connection with the death of Sergei Bagapsh will be performed by Vice President Alexander Ankvab for three months , said the Speaker of the Parliament of Abkhazia Nugzar Ashuba .

“In accordance with the constitution of the Republic of Abkhazia, elections for the country’s president must take place after three months,” Ashuba told Interfax .

Ankvab began acting as head of the republic when Bagapsh went to Moscow for an operation .

According to Ankvab, Bagapsh’s death is “a great loss for the entire Abkhaz people.”

Ankvab added that on Sunday morning the Security Council of the Republic of Abkhazia will meet for an emergency meeting, “at which decisions will be made to create a state commission to organize the funeral of President Bagapsh of Abkhazia and deliver the body of the deceased to Abkhazia.” The Security Council must also determine on which days mourning will be declared in the republic.

Bagapsh will be buried in Abkhazia, told ITAR-TASS . his administration

“A civil memorial service will be held in Moscow on Monday and, as expected, on the same day the body of the president of the republic will be sent home. Bagapsh will most likely be buried in Sukhumi or in the ancestral village of Dzhgerda, where his parents are buried,” the agency’s interlocutor said.

Bagapsh died in Moscow early on Sunday morning after undergoing two lung surgeries.

Bagapsh’s duties will be performed by Vice-President Ankvab, the memorial service will be held in Moscow - Gazeta.Ru