"This is illegal and invalid" - EU representation and ambassadors on Pitsunda transfer

EU on Pitsunda

The EU Delegation and Ambassadors in Georgia reacted to the Pitsunda transfer to Russia. Any decision that undermines the territorial integrity of Georgia is illegal and invalid, European diplomats said.

According to the Georgian Foreign Ministry, the so-called ratification by Abkhazia and its parliament of the agreement on the transfer of Pitsunda to the Russian Federation is another illegal act and continuation of the Russian policy of occupation of indivisible regions of Georgia, which grossly violates the fundamental principles of international law.

Statement by the EU delegation

“The European Union fully supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia within the internationally recognized borders of the country. Any decision undermining Georgia’s territorial integrity, such as the attempt to transfer to Russia the lands of the occupied self-proclaimed region of Abkhazia, is illegal, ineffective and null and void,” the statement reads.

Statement by the French Ambassador

French Ambassador to Georgia Sheraz Ghasri calls the transfer illegal and invalid.

“France supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia within its internationally recognized borders. Any decision that violates the territorial integrity of Georgia is illegal and invalid,” the ambassador said in a statement.

Statement by the Ambassador of the Czech Republic

According to the Czech Ambassador Petr Kubert, the decision to transfer should be annulled:

“Czechs have always supported the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia and will continue to do so in the future. Accordingly, we believe that the transfer of Pitsunda land to Russia contradicts this and all such decisions should be annulled and canceled.”

• “Night of surrender of sovereignty of the Republic of Abkhazia”. Opinion on transfer of Pitsunda estate to Russia
• Abkhazia to transfer more than 180 hectares in the best resort of Pitsunda to Russia

Early in the morning of December 27, the Abkhazian parliament at an emergency session ratified a scandalous agreement on the transfer of the former state building in Pitsunda into the ownership of the Russian Federation. This happened against the background of ongoing protests in Sukhumi against this decision.

On January 19, 2022 an agreement was signed between Abkhazia and the Russian Federation on the transfer of objects located on the territory of Pitsunda to Moscow on lease for a period of 49 years. We are talking about 343 hectares, of which 155 hectares is the sea area and 180 hectares is the territory of the Pitsunda-Musser reserve.

The essence of discontent of the opposition and the majority of society in Abkhazia is not the fact of transfer of the object to Russia. The problem is the conditions included in the text of the agreement.

The greatest indignation is caused by the fact that the coordinates of the state property were incorrectly indicated in the agreement. It turned out that in addition to the territory of the object itself of 180 hectares, Russia was also given a large part of the territory of the resort of Pitsunda.

On December 27th Speaker of Parliament Lasha Ashuba said that consultations with representatives of the opposition were held all night long, as a result of which a number of amendments to Abkhazian legislation were prepared, which in essence should level those flaws that were not included in the text of the agreement itself.

Speaker Lasha Ashuba came out to the protesters and voiced the decisions made:

“The amendment related to coordinates was accepted by the Russian side, and we received it. The issue related to “third parties” remained. There was a corresponding meeting between representatives of the authorities and the opposition, at which we came to a consensus on amending the relevant laws.

This is the law “On International Treaties”, the Civil Code and a special constitutional law that deals specifically with the transfer of the state dacha, which states that in case of transfer of the object to third parties the agreement is terminated and the property is returned to the Republic of Abkhazia”.

The Pitsunda complex was built in 1958-61 by order of the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the USSR, Nikita Khrushchev.