On October 3, Prime Minister Ali Asadov of Azerbaijan met with his Belarusian counterpart, Roman Golovchenko, during an official visit to Minsk. The meeting aimed to further strengthen the Azerbaijan-Belarus partnership, which has seen dynamic development across various sectors, Azernews reports.
Day: October 4, 2024
The Abkhazian Parliament is expected to either approve or reject the agreement on Russian investments in the near future, with the Kremlin pushing for its signing. The Abkhazian opposition opposes the agreement, viewing it as colonial.
According to the agreement “On the Implementation of Investment Projects in the Republic of Abkhazia by Russian Legal Entities,” Russian companies investing more than 2 billion rubles (about 21 million dollars) in Abkhazia will receive unprecedented benefits.
In particular, the government of Abkhazia commits to:
- Provide the investor with land plots necessary for the implementation of investment projects and a quota for foreign workers;
- Exempt the investor from paying customs duties when importing construction materials and equipment into Abkhazia;
- Exempt the investor from paying property tax and corporate profit tax for 8 years from the date of the commissioning of capital construction projects;
- Grant the right to reimburse value-added tax (VAT) from the Abkhazian budget if, at the end of the tax period, the amount of tax deductions exceeds the total amount of tax calculated on transactions considered taxable.
Additionally, the investor is guaranteed priority access to capacities and connections to infrastructure and communication networks necessary for the project’s implementation.
Lastly, investors benefiting from the preferential regime will be serviced by specially opened Russian banks in the republic, which contradicts local banking legislation.
- Abkhazia ratifies agreement with Russia on “mutual recognition of court decisions in economic matters”
- Russian investment agreement in Abkhazia: no benefit, only harm. Opinion
The Abkhazian opposition has labeled this agreement as “colonial” and stated that it does not align with the interests of Abkhazia at all.
In their view, if the agreement comes into effect, local businesses will not be able to withstand the competition and will simply go bankrupt.
Opposition leader Adgur Ardzinba believes that the agreement is tailored to benefit certain Russian oligarchs, who are being actively lobbied for by the President of Abkhazia, Aslan Bzhania.
Members of Abkhazia’s banking community are also displeased. On October 3, during a meeting with members of parliament, they expressed strong opposition to the proposed agreement.
According to a law passed in early 2024, if parliament does not approve the agreement, the government of Abkhazia does not have the right to sign it. This law was enacted specifically because earlier agreements between Russia and Abkhazia, signed by the president, ministries, etc., without parliamentary approval, had sparked public outrage.
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Russian Intelligence Chief Naryshkin Praises Georgia
“The U.S. is trying to influence the parliamentary elections in Georgia, but I am confident that the Georgian people will make the right choice,” said Sergey Naryshkin, Director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, during his visit to Baku on October 3, as reported by “Echo of the Caucasus.”
What Naryshkin Said:
“At the request of the U.S. State Department, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) prepared an interim report, which includes the claim that Georgia likely does not have the conditions for fair and open parliamentary elections on October 26.
But this, of course, does not reflect reality. The goal of this action is to interfere crudely and quite brazenly in Georgia’s internal affairs and prevent healthy, nationally oriented forces from coming to power again.
But I am confident that the people of Georgia will make the right and proper choice,” stated the Director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service.
He also told Azerbaijani journalists that the results of the parliamentary elections held in Azerbaijan in September “fully reflect the aspirations of the Azerbaijani people,” while OSCE representatives “tried to cast doubt on this.”
Earlier, on September 12, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova reiterated the claims made by Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service that “the U.S. plans to interfere in Georgia’s elections through the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).”
She accused the organization of “escalating the situation ahead of the elections.” According to Zakharova, “if the West doesn’t like the election results, the bureau’s conclusions could serve as a pretext for protest and contesting the results, leading to yet another ‘color revolution.’”
Zakharova also said that “Russia sends its observers to elections when friendly countries request it.”
During the high-level conversation at @WarsawForum on “Global Order & #Democracy: A Map for #SouthCaucasus?” among other topics 🇦🇲FM @AraratMirzoyan touched upon the peace process with Azerbaijan ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/g6irYgdV6G
— MFA of Armenia🇦🇲 (@MFAofArmenia) October 4, 2024