DJIKHASHKARI, Georgia -- Moving to resolve a four-day hostage standoff, Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze agreed Monday to hold talks with a representative of the gunmen holding three UN military observers.
The kidnappers, supporters of former President Zviad Gamsakhurdia ousted in a 1992 coup, said they were skeptical of the offer.
Shevardnadze has said the kidnappers are the same men who were behind an assassination attempt against him two weeks ago -- a charge they deny.
"The government is again ready to start a dialogue with Gamsakhurdia followers," Shevardnadze said in a radio address.
Shevardnadze said he would meet with a person designated by the kidnappers as their representative, but gave no details. He warned that authorities' "patience has certain limits."
The incident began last Thursday when a group of heavily armed gunmen seized four United Nations representatives, along with their Georgian driver, after shelling UN headquarters in the western town of Zugdidi.
They threatened to execute the hostages unless the authorities agreed to hold political negotiations.
Police tracked the gunmen to the mountainous village of Djikhashkari some 20 kilometers northeast of Zugdidi, where the kidnappers barricaded themselves in a house on top of a hill.
Police have encircled the house, which belongs to a local municipal leader also held hostage. Four of his relatives have decided to remain in the house although the gunmen have granted them permission to leave.
Despite tight police cordons, some reporters entered the house Monday.
"We will not release hostages until the authorities fulfill our main demand and sit down at the negotiations table," the kidnappers' leader, Gocha Esebua, said.
The UN observers spoke calmly as they said they had been treated well and had no complaints. Their faces were clean-shaven. Women members of the household were cooking with the help of a round-the-clock electricity supply -- a rarity in energy-starved Georgia.
On Sunday, one of the four UN observers, Captain Julio Navas of Uruguay, was released as a "gesture of goodwill.''
The kidnappers have been urging the government to free their comrades, who were arrested on suspicion of taking part in the attempt on Shevardnadze's life on Feb. 9. They denied involvement and threatened to execute the hostages unless the authorities start political talks.
The remaining three UN observers still held by kidnappers are Captain Ronald Garcia of Uruguay, Major Maarten Moelgaard of Sweden and Jaroslav Kulisek of the Czech Republic.
Followers of Gamsakhurdia, Georgia's first popularly elected president, strongly oppose Shevardnadze, who won the election several months after Gamsakhurdia was ousted in a 1992 coup.
Gamsakhurdia died later under unclear circumstances.
Seven men described as Gamsakhurdia followers have been arrested on charges of attempting to assassinate Shevardnadze. Two bodyguards and one of the assailants were killed in the assault, but Shevardnadze was unharmed.
The kidnappers have previously said they want Nemo Burchuladze, a former deputy chairman of Georgia's Supreme Soviet, to meet with Shevardnadze on their behalf.