Bzhania meeting with Putin
Vladimir Putin met with President of Abkhazia Bzhania.
The Abkhazian leader announced the republic’s intention to participate in integration processes initiated by Russia.
However, there are no specifics about the parameters of this “integration” in the video published by the Kremlin press service. Nor is there any reaction of President Putin to Bzhania’s words.
The meeting between Putin and Bzhania took place in Sochi late in the evening of October 4. The same day before that the President of Abkhazia held talks with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov there.
Ahead of the talks Russian media predicted that after the meeting it could be announced about the beginning of the procedure of Abkhazia’s accession to the Union State of Russia and the Republic of Belarus.
But the bilateral format of the meeting initially made such predictions groundless. To start the procedure of Abkhazia’s accession to the Union State one visa from the Kremlin is not enough. We need consent from Alexander Lukashenko. But the Republic of Belarus is in no hurry to recognize the independence of Abkhazia.
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So at this meeting Putin did not say anything about the Union State, he emphasized the growing trade turnover (by 73%) between the two countries and the increase in Russian regions (64) trade and economic relations with Abkhazia.
Aslan Bzhania, in turn, noted that relations between Abkhazia and Russia have recently been given additional impetus, there is a process of harmonization, which brings closer the positions of the states within the framework of creating a common socio-economic and defense space.
“We want and will follow those agreements that are spelled out in our fundamental documents. We want to participate in integration processes that are initiated by the Russian side, because it corresponds to the fundamental interests of Abkhazia. It is very important for us,” – said Aslan Bzhania.
Social networks found a special subtext in the “fresh” nature of the meeting of the Russian president with the head of Abkhazia. Against the background of the tragic fate of Nagorno-Karabakh, it was important for Moscow and Sukhum to demonstrate that everything is smooth in Russian-Abkhazian relations as before.
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