Opinion: "Moscow and Tbilisi are discussing resumption of railway operations, ignoring Abkhazia’s interests"
The railway between Georgia and Russia via Abkhazia
In recent days, social media and Kremlin-affiliated media outlets have been reporting on a meeting held in Moscow between representatives of Russian and Georgian business associations. The discussion reportedly focused on the possibility of resuming cargo railway transportation between the two countries.
Such a route would only be feasible through Abkhazia, and rail service has been suspended since the 1990s due to the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict.
However, Abkhaz journalist and editor-in-chief of Chegemskaya Pravda Inal Khashig believes that despite Abkhazia’s direct geographic involvement in such a project, nobody is going to take its interests into account.
However, Abkhaz journalist and editor-in-chief of the newspaper Chegemskaya Pravda, Inal Khashig, believes that despite Abkhazia’s direct geographic involvement in such a project, its interests are not being taken into account.
Currently, the only functioning land route between Georgia and Russia passes through the “Upper Lars” checkpoint. It is critically overloaded, as it also serves as Armenia’s sole land connection with Russia. Long queues frequently form at the Georgia–Russia border, with freight trucks sometimes waiting for days. The route is often closed altogether due to heavy snowfall in winter or landslides in spring and summer.
The idea of restoring road and/or rail transit from Russia to Georgia via Abkhazia was actively discussed back in 2018. At the time, a compromise was reached: to involve the Swiss company SGS to carry out customs monitoring of cargo on both the Russian and Georgian sides.
The process progressed to the point that Moscow and Tbilisi signed respective contracts with SGS. Abkhazia was not included in these agreements in any way—one of the main reasons why the project ultimately stalled.
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Editor-in-chief of the newspaper Chegemskaya Pravda Inal Khashig:
“In recent times, Georgia has become one of the main trading partners of Russia, which is under numerous sanctions.
For Moscow, Georgia now serves as a key hub for re-exports.
According to official statistics, trade between the two countries reached $2.5 billion in 2024, and there is mutual interest in increasing that figure several times over.
But everything comes down to logistics.
Road freight has already nearly reached its limit — at the Upper Lars checkpoint, the main “trade” route connecting Russia and Georgia, long queues are a constant issue, especially complicated during the winter months.
Now, with few viable alternatives, business figures have come to the conclusion that railway and maritime routes need to be brought into play.
But there’s a catch.
The railway runs through Abkhazia — and that route has been out of use for 33 years, ever since the start of the Georgian-Abkhaz war.
Reopening railway transport through Abkhazia is a matter of high politics. At first glance, it seems unlikely that such a decision could be made simply through talks between two groups of business representatives.
But there’s another catch.
Russia and Georgia have no diplomatic relations — they were severed after the August 2008 war and Moscow’s subsequent recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states.
Much has changed since then.
The staunchly anti-Russian Mikheil Saakashvili was replaced by oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili and his party Georgian Dream, which both the local opposition and the West now view as pro-Russian.
Although diplomatic relations between Russia and Georgia have yet to be restored, in today’s geopolitical standoff, Tbilisi increasingly appears to act as an unofficial ally of the Kremlin.
And precisely because of the absence of diplomatic ties, channels of interstate communication between Moscow and Tbilisi have been operating quite effectively at other levels — including through business communities.
That’s why the discussion between Georgian and Russian business associations on reopening the railway line through Abkhazia should be taken as a serious signal that this issue is beginning to move toward resolution.
It suggests that both Moscow and Tbilisi are ready. The remaining task is to reach an agreement with Abkhazia — and most likely, the Kremlin will take on this delicate role.
From an economic standpoint, restoring through railway transit is undoubtedly beneficial for Abkhazia. But everything hinges on the issue of jurisdiction, including customs clearance of goods. For Abkhazia, this has always been a matter of principle.
The real question now is whether Moscow, under current circumstances, will try to find an arrangement acceptable to the Abkhaz side — or simply use its influence to push the necessary decision through.
That, it seems, is a rhetorical question.”
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