Severe fuel shortages continue in Abkhazia in the middle of the tourist season. All petroleum products are supplied exclusively from Russia, leaving one clear explanation: fuel shortages in Russia caused by Ukrainian drone attacks on oil and gas facilities.
The Abkhaz authorities are holding emergency talks with Moscow and say progress has been made. Reports say Russia has already arranged for 1,600 tonnes of AI-92 petrol to be sent to Abkhazia, with the first shipment expected to arrive in the coming days.
For now, petrol is available only at Rosneft and Podorozhnik filling stations.
Meanwhile, reports say petrol was supplied from territory controlled by Tbilisi
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze confirmed this:
“Amid the severe fuel shortage, a shipment was made to Abkhazia, but it was not supplied by the state, it was supplied by private businesses. If we continue to have the opportunity to ease the situation for the people living there, both Georgians and Abkhaz, we will continue to do so,” Kobakhidze said.
The Abkhaz news agency Apsnypress asked the Abkhaz government for comment following Kobakhidze’s statement and received the following response:
“Due to the circumstances caused by external factors, there is not enough motor fuel to meet Abkhazia’s needs. The authorities therefore decided to allow fuel supplies from alternative sources. Fuel market participants managed to arrange a shipment of petrol from Georgian territory. As is well known, Abkhazia also supplied fuel to Georgia from its territory in the post-war 1990s.”
Kobakhidze’s statement drew criticism from the opposition in Tbilisi. Opposition politicians said the fuel supplies to Abkhazia “could in fact mean supplies to Russian military bases”.
Economist and opposition politician Roman Gotsiridze said: “It is possible that the fuel could also have been transported to Russian territory. The company that made these deliveries will not escape sanctions.”
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