No checkpoint is going to be put on the border between Russia and Abkhazia" - Russian State Duma deputy

Psou checkpoint may be abolished

The checkpoint on the Russian-Abkhaz border [the Abkhaz section of the Russian-Georgian border] may be abolished, said Leonid Kalashnikov, Russian State Duma deputy and head of the CIS Committee on Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots.

“We talked about the Psou checkpoint on the Russian – Abkhaz border because of the problem that is getting worse from year to year. We agreed to create a working group, but in addition, we discussed more serious issues such as the complete abolishment of this checkpoint – as was the case with Belarus”, Kalashnikov said.

It is necessary to do everything for a comfortable and convenient border crossing, said State Duma Vice Speaker Anna Kuznetsova.

“We understand that today, amid sanctions and ongoing special operation, some areas may not be accessible to the families of our children. That is why we must do our best to ensure that the places where they are waiting for us are as accessible and organized as possible. We must do everything possible to make it comfortable for our families to cross the border with children, to be in these areas, and it is very correct and important that representatives of the Republic of Abkhazia came to the State Duma today with such a request – to make crossing the Russian-Abkhazian border more comfortable.

A similar initiative was taken by Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the Russian state-owned propaganda channel RT, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On March 30, she stated that she was dissatisfied with the existence of a customs post on the Psou River. According to Simonyan, this detracts from the dignity of millions of Russians.

After the Russian-Georgian war in 2008, Moscow recognized the “independence” of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. In addition to Russia, so-called independence was recognized by Venezuela, Nicaragua, Syria and Nauru.