‘Barking dog never bites,’ occupied Abkhazia responds to Tbilisi on int’l flights
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Wednesday, July 31
De facto leadership of Georgia’s occupied Abkhazia region says that they will carry our international flights from Sokhumi airport anyway, no matter whether Tbilisi wishes it or not.
De facto Foreign Minister of the Russian-occupied region Daur Kove says that the efforts of the central Georgian government, to prevent the flights, will be useless.
“Barking dog never bites. Sokhumi airport will open for international flights,” he said.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry reported on July 29 that the Babushera Airport near Sokhumi cannot be opened for international flights, as this contradicts local and international law.
The ministry says that the airport was closed in 1993, after the armed conflict in the region, and will be reopened after Georgia reintegrates the territory.
“The International Civil Aviation Agency will never approve the flights as they will contradict the law,” the ministry reported.
Deputy Foreign Minister of Georgia Lasha Darsalia stated on Tuesday that if the flights are operated from Russia to Sokhumi, this will be another confirmation that Russia is an occupying force.
“It is impossible to talk about international flights from Sokhumi Airport. Statements have been made by the occupation forces, but they are just expressing their desires. No international flights can be operated. If flights are carried out from Russia to Sokhumi, this would be another confirmation that Russia is an occupying force and it carries out actual control on the region [which Russia denies],” said Lasha Darsalia.
Russian media reported on July 26 that the Sokhumi Airport had been granted the URAS international code.
URAS code is granted to CIS countries.
Under the granted code, Sokhumi Airport has been registered as Rostov’s airspace.
Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) regions of Georgia were recognised as independent republics by Russia after the Russia-Georgia 2008 war.
Since the war, only Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, and Syria have recognised those Georgian regions as independent states. The rest of the international community says that the regions are occupied by Russia.
Russia says that it “only protects the regions from possible occupation and violence by Georgia.”
