Day: May 18, 2026
Badra Gunba, the de facto leader of Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia region, said the region will “sooner or later” be “fully recognized” internationally as an independent country and become a member of the United Nations, noting that work is underway with countries in Latin America and the Middle East, as well as several Asian and African states, without providing further details.
Only five countries recognize Georgia’s Russian-occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali/South Ossetia as independent states: Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Nauru, and Syria. Syria, the most recent to establish diplomatic ties with Abkhazia in 2018, has been urged by various Georgian and international actors to withdraw its recognition following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s rule in December 2024.
In an interview with the Russian state news agency TASS published on May 15, following his visit to Moscow, where he participated in events dedicated to Victory Day on May 9, Gunba was asked whether negotiations were currently underway with any countries or organizations, or whether anyone had “expressed readiness” to recognize Abkhazia as an independent state.
He said work continues to expand the number of countries recognizing Abkhazia. “It is ongoing in regions such as Latin America, the Middle East, and several Asian and African republics. I have certain instructions for the foreign ministry. In this sense, the work continues – in some cases it progresses faster, while in others we would like this movement to be faster and more effective,” he said.
“But we understand what the countries we are in contact with often face. Countries that are ready to fully support our republic, but are under certain pressure from Western countries – countries that are trying in every possible way to impose their agenda,” he added.
“I am confident that sooner or later we will reach the point where Abkhazia will be fully recognized, and our country will be one of the representatives in the UN. This is inevitable, no matter who resists it. This is what our people strive for, and we will definitely achieve it.”
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A special unit will be established within Georgia’s Interior Ministry that will be tasked with “systematically monitoring” “hate speech, offensive campaigns, and aggressive communication in public spaces” and responding to them, Mamuka Mdinaradze, Georgian Dream State Minister for Coordination of Law Enforcement Bodies, announced at a May 18 briefing in the government administration.
The move comes as critics of the ruling Georgian Dream government are being fined and detained for days over statements authorities deem “insulting” toward officials in public spaces, including on social media, as part of a broader crackdown on freedom of expression in the country. Human rights observers have criticized the new move as a “censorship mechanism,” among other concerns.
According to Mdinaradze, a former State Security Service chief who has recently been approved to the newly created post of State Minister for Coordination of Law Enforcement Bodies in the Georgian Dream government, the unit, to be established “in the shortest possible time,” will deal with “any type of public communication that contains hate speech, incitement of enmity, violation of dignity, and other similar acts.” The unit will operate in “a proactive mode” and its work “will not depend solely on a citizen’s complaint,” Mdinaradze said, adding that it may also independently send materials to court.
“To leave no room for speculation,” Mdinaradze stressed, “the purpose of the decision is not to restrict freedom of opinion and expression in any form,” adding that “free discussion and diversity of opinion” as a foundation of a democratic state “should not become a basis for justifying communication that is violent, offensive, or encourages public confrontation.”
He further said that “a number of countries” have “similar practices,” citing the UK, France, and Germany, where, he said, “state institutions actively protect the public sphere from hate speech and aggressive campaigns.”
Mdinaradze linked the initiative to an earlier proposal by Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze to “open the space for debates,” saying, “The opening of a space was the first step. From today, we are moving to the next important step.” He then accused the “external force” of encouraging “confrontation, hostility, and polarization.”
Reacting to the announcement, Tamar Oniani, Chair of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA), a local human rights watchdog, said the yet-to-be-created mechanism “appears to be a form of censorship and has nothing to do with balancing interests in a democratic society.”
Tamta Mikeladze, head of the Social Justice Center (SJC), another human rights organization, said that monitoring hate speech is “generally legitimate,” but argued that in democratic systems this mandate should belong to the public defender rather than the police.
In February 2025, the Georgian Dream-controlled parliament adopted legislative amendments making “insults” against public officials and civil servants an administrative offense. Since then, a number of critics have been fined and detained for several days under the changes.
Also Read:
- 02/02/2026 – Pro-Government TV Channels to Host GD-Proposed ‘Debates’
- 09/07/2025 – Activist Jailed for Five Days Over “Insult” in Facebook Comment
- 12/06/2025 – Politicians, Journalists, Activists Summoned to Court Over Social Media “Insults” to GD MPs
- 06/06/2025 – Georgian Dream to Sue Critics Over “Insults” on Social Media