Have the Abkhaz opposition and the Russian embassy reconciled?
Abkhaz opposition and the Russian embassy
In Abkhazia, opposition leader Adgur Ardzinba is concerned about the long delays in allowing vehicles with Abkhaz plates to cross the Russian border. Ardzinba reached out to the Russian ambassador, who, almost a month later, responded that the “information presented will be taken into account.” It is unclear how this will affect the resolution of the issue, but it may indicate a reconciliation between the ambassador and the opposition, which he recently labeled as “marginal.”
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Long queues at the Russian border are due to the lengthy processing of vehicle registration cards, which are entered into the database manually.
In contrast, vehicles with Russian plates are processed in a separate inspection area using a simplified system, allowing them to cross the border without significant delays.
In early July, Adgur Ardzinba, leader of the “Abkhazian People’s Movement,” sent a letter to the Russian ambassador to Abkhazia, Mikhail Shurgalin, requesting that the issue be resolved.
By the end of July, the Russian embassy finally officially responded to his request.
“We acknowledge receipt of your inquiry regarding the crossing of the state border of the Russian Federation by citizens of the Republic of Abkhazia through the MAPP ‘Adler.’ The information provided will be considered in future work,” the embassy’s letter states.
This formal response is clearly not what Ardzinba had hoped for.
However, at the end of the letter, the embassy added that it “notes his personal interest in certain aspects of the bilateral Russian-Abkhazian allied relations.”
This could be interpreted as a sign of reconciliation between the Russian ambassador and the Abkhaz opposition, which was deeply offended after the incident on June 12, Russia’s Independence Day.
To mark the occasion, a reception was held at the Russian embassy in Sukhum, to which no opposition representatives were invited.
When opposition Telegram channels pointed this out, Mikhail Shurgalin responded by stating that: a) representatives of political organizations were invited based on their significance in the republic, and b) only those represented in parliament could be considered significant, with all others being “marginal.”
This argument was not only insulting but also unconvincing, as the Abkhazian parliament is elected solely through a majoritarian system, and political parties are not represented in it.
The Abkhaz opposition organizations expressed their outrage over the ambassador’s statement in a separate address, and relations between them have been tense since then.
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