Abkhazia will close the crossing to the Georgian side
According to the Apsnypress news agency, on October 16, a Georgian drone filming military sites was neutralized in Abkhazian territory. In light of this incident and the upcoming parliamentary elections in Georgia on October 26, the Abkhazian government has decided to close the crossing to the Georgian side for a week [Abkhazia considers this a state border, while Georgia and the international community see it as an administrative dividing line – JAMnews].
The drone’s owner turned out to be David Katsarava, who calls himself the leader of the “Anti-Occupation Movement of Georgia.” On his social media page, Katsarava stated that the drone belonged to him and announced a fundraising campaign to purchase a new device following the loss of the previous one.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia called this incident a “blatant provocation” aimed at escalating tensions in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict zone.
“Despite the frequent statements from the highest leadership of Georgia about their desire to resolve all existing disagreements with the Republic of Abkhazia exclusively by peaceful means, in practice, Georgia continues to escalate the situation along the Abkhaz-Georgian state border, creating serious threats to security and stability in the region,” the ministry’s statement said.
Two days later, Abkhazian President Aslan Bzhania convened the Security Council of the republic, during which its members approved the proposal of the State Security Service to close the crossing to the Georgian side at the checkpoint located on the Ingur River from October 23 to 30. This measure is aimed at preventing possible incidents during the elections on October 26.
Exceptions are made only for citizens of the republic and residents returning to Abkhazia, as well as for employees of the Inguri Hydroelectric Station.
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