President of Abkhazia: 'Georgian leadership must acknowledge existing reality'
President of Abkhazia Aslan Bzhania gave a comprehensive interview to the Russian state news agency ITAR-TASS. In the interview, he stated that Abkhazia is interested in fostering good neighborly relations with Georgia and desires to join the Union State of Russia and Belarus.
Here are the key points from Bzhania’s interview.
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About relations with Georgia
Regarding relations with Georgia, Bzhania believes that in recent years, following the onset of the war in Ukraine, the Georgian leadership “has shown a pragmatic approach to all the matters”:
“They did not get involved in the provocation imposed on them by Ukraine. The repeated calls from the Ukrainian leadership to open a second front did not find support from them. I consider this a sign of political maturity. That’s how it seems to me.”
Bzhania states that Abkhazia has determined its future and the Georgian leadership will have to acknowledge the existing reality:
“In general, we would like to have good neighborly relations with Georgia. I can say that there is no antagonism towards the Georgian people from us. We had grievances against those who initiated this war [the Georgian-Abkhaz war of 1992-93 – JAMnews] and those who participated in it. This fundamentally changed everything.
Today, there is an independent Abkhazia, whose independence is supported by the leadership and the people of Russia. We have our own path of development, and we are following it. At the same time, we are interested in good neighborly relations with Georgia.”
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On Abkhazia’s entry into the Union State of Russia and Belarus
Bzhania stated that Abkhazia wants to “be together” with Russia and Belarus, and the Union State is a suitable format for it:
“However, a certain stage needs to be passed, normative acts need to be prepared. This process may take approximately 5-10 years.
This union is beneficial for the people of the Russian Federation, Belarus, and, undoubtedly, the people of Abkhazia. It will allow us to preserve our identity, culture, on one hand, and its development, on the other. I believe that working towards such a union is the right direction for the development of our relations.
Our independence has been dearly paid for, and we do not want to become a state that loses this status. We want to be a state that can participate in integration processes together with states like Russia and Belarus, and those who want to join such a union.”
About the energy crisis
The President of Abkhazia believes that the republic must take measures to restore its own sources of energy to overcome the ongoing and worsening energy crisis. He sees raising tariffs for electricity consumption as a possible measure:
“Today, we are forced to raise tariffs and bring them to economically justified levels. All this will be done gradually. In order for the energy sector of Abkhazia to operate smoothly, significant investment is needed. Our state cannot invest that much, and we are negotiating and will continue to negotiate to attract foreign investment into the sector.”
By foreign investment, Russian investment is implied, among others. In Abkhaz society, this idea is mostly perceived negatively, but the authorities claim that there is no other way.
Bzhania said that Abkhazia is in negotiations with Russia regarding gasification in order to achieve energy security.
“A preliminary gasification project has been developed, and the Abkhazian public is aware of it. A structure within Gazprom has prepared a gasification scheme. The entire project is expected to be implemented at Gazprom’s expense; it’s an economic project, not a political one. To ensure its realization, appropriate acceptable conditions must be provided from the Abkhazian side, which we are working on.”
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