Russia’s President signed ratified 'Alliance' treaty with breakaway Abkhazia

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law ratifying a so-called treaty on ‘Alliance and Strategic Partnership' with Georgia's breakaway region Abkhazia today.

The so-called deal between Russia and Georgia’s Breakaway region was ratified on January 23 by the lawmakers from Russia's State Duma (the legislative body of the Russian Federation), Russian news agency Tass stated.

The de-facto president of breakaway Abkhazia Raul Khajimba and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the controversial ‘Alliance and Strategic Partnership’ deal in Sochi on November 24.

The so-called treaty envisaged creation of a common space of defence and security, including a common group involving Russian and Abkhazian armed forces.

Therefore, soon after Moscow signed the 'Alliance and Strategic Partnership' treaty with Abkhazia in late November, the de facto leader of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia), Georgia's other breakaway region, also expressed interest in signing a similar agreement with Russia.

The draft agreement with South Ossetia outlined much deeper integration of the region with Russia than the one signed between Moscow and Sokhumi. At the time Tskhinvali's so-called leader Leonid Tibilov expressed his vision about the breakaway region’s accession into Russia, and asked whether that could be included in the proposed integration treaty between Moscow and Tskhinvali.

Meanwhile, European and American leaders condemned the Russia-Abkhazia treaty as an attempt at annexation.