joining the Russian Federation is not discussed

The authorities of the self-proclaimed Republic of Abkhazia claim that its president Aslan Bzhania is not discussing the possible accession of Abkhazia to Russia with Russian representatives during his current trip to Moscow.

The message of the media relations department of the administration of Bzhaniya appeared on its page. It states that “in the publications of various periodicals and in the Internet information and communication network, untrue messages about the alleged discussion of the status of the Republic of Abkhazia during the visit began to spread.” The message also condemns some Abkhaz public associations, which “on the basis of unverified and unreliable information about the alleged discussion of the status of the Republic of Abkhazia” are asking to “vocally accuse the leadership of Abkhazia of undermining the foundations of the constitutional system.”

Earlier, the Russian agency RIA Novosti in a note under the heading “In Abkhazia spoke against joining Russia” referred to the statement of some public figures, which, in particular, said: “The independent status of our state is defined in the Constitution and cannot be subject to discussion.”

Reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin may announce some integration initiatives in his message to the Federal Assembly on February 21 – up to the unification with self-proclaimed Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as well as Belarus – appeared last week in a number of pro-Kremlin Telegram channels, usually in in the form of hints, and not in direct text. They appeared after the arrival in Moscow of the leaders of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Belarus. The Kremlin did not officially comment on this.

On Sunday, a message was received about Bzhania’s meeting in Moscow with Rashid Nurgaliev, First Deputy Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation. “At the meeting, issues of current agenda and bilateral Abkhazian-Russian cooperation in the field of security were discussed”, – reports “Echo of the Caucasus”.

• The authorities of the Soviet Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia announced its separation from Georgia in 1990. After the Russian-Georgian war of 2008, Russia and three other UN countries recognized the independence of Abkhazia; Georgia considers it a part of its territory occupied by Russia. The vast majority of countries in the world do not recognize the independence of Abkhazia.