TBILISI, Feb 11 (AFP) - The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said Friday that it believed that the death of Georgia's prime minister Zurab Zhvania last week was accidental, as officials in Tbilisi originally announced.
Zhvania, seen as the driving force behind market-oriented economic reforms, was found dead February 3 in an apartment in Tbilisi after apparently succumbing to inadequately ventilated carbon monoxide fumes from a heater.
Five agents from the FBI arrived two days after his death under secrecy in the former Soviet republic, which has been looking to establish closer ties with Washington following Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili's rise to power in 2003.
The FBI said upon completion of its preliminary investigation that the death did in fact appear to be accidental, scotching media rumors that it may have been linked to intergovernmental infighting or to a foreign power such as Russia.
"At this time we see no evidence to disagree or dispute the Georgian investigation," the FBI's legal attache, Brian Parman, told reporters.
"It all looks like a tragic accident, and we see no evidence to indicate that there was foul play involved."
Parman said the FBI were given access to Zhvania's blood samples and "all the information files."
"The group includes doctors of chemistry working with carbon monoxide in more than 150 cases. It is the best team that America can offer."
Saakashvili has appointed the country's finance minister, and Zhvania protege, Zurab Nogaidely as prime minister, with his parliamentary confirmation hearings tentatively scheduled for Friday evening.
Saakashvili came to power in the "rose revolution" of November 2003 on the back of a popular movement against former leader Eduard Shevardnadze. Zhvania was a key ally of the country's US-educated president but was seen as a more moderate figure.
02/11/2005 14:10 GMT - AFP