De facto Abkhaz president claims goods worth billions of rubles ‘illegally enter Georgia’ from the region

The newly elected de facto President of Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia region Aslan Bzhania claims that products worth billions of rubles illegally enter Tbilisi-controlled territory from the region. 

He says that there is a need “to have the border under full control.”

Bzhania says that Abkhazia receives 11-12 tonnes of hazelnuts annually and only 10 per cent of the harvest are imported to Russia. 

He said that the remaining portion of hazelnuts appear on Tbilisi-administered territory and the money ‘goes to the pockets of contrabandistas.’ 

 Bzhania was sworn in as the fifth de-facto leader of Abkhazia for a five-year term on April 23,2020. 

Before and after the so-called elections, Bzhania said that he supports a new format of negotiations with Tbilisi. At the same time, he says that Georgia should recognise the ‘ independence of Abkhazia.’

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Since the Russia-Georgia 2008 war only Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru and Syria have reconciled the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali as independent republics, the rest of the international community says the regions are occupied by Russia.