Russia will have an Embassy by the sea in Abkhazia

The de facto Speaker of the Abkhazian Parliament, Nugzar Ashuba, has stated that the “Government of Abkhazia” will provide “the best seaside plot in the capital” as the site of a new Russian Embassy.

“With the opening of this Embassy the life of Abkhazian citizens will be changed, they will not have to enter Russian territory to change their passports or solve their social problems,” Ashuba told Russian news agency Interfax on September 10. He also pointed that more than 90% of Abkhazian residents have Russian citizenship.

The Russian Federation recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia on August 26. On September 9 Russia decided to establish formal diplomatic relations with the two Georgian regions. This decision has been protested against by Georgia and strongly condemned by the international community including the UN and the EU.

“To become a fully-fledged member of the international community, a country needs to become a UN member, and that is impossible in the case of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, because no member of the UN Security Council, except Russia, will vote for this,” said international politics expert Nika Chitadze, talking to The Messenger. Chitadze quoted the example of Taiwan, a country recognized as independent by more than 20 states but not accepted by the UN, as most of the international community considers it to be part of China.

The independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia has been recognized by Nicaragua. The Russian Foreign Ministry has stated that in the near future Belarus, Syria, Libya, Jordan and Morocco will also recognize the two regions as independent states.