Russia wants border removed with breakaway Abkhazia

Russia is making moves to remove its border with Abkhazia – one of Georgia’s two breakaway regions.

Russia, unlike the rest of the international community, recognises Abkhazia as an independent state and has initiated action to develop a stronger alliance between itself and the smaller region.

Russian president’s aide Vladislav Surkov, who is in charge of overseeing Moscow’s relations with Georgia’s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia), voiced this initiative after he met Abkhazia’s de-facto president Raul Khajimba.

"There must not be a border between us,” Surkov said.

Abkhazia is located in the north-western corner of Georgia with the Black Sea to the south-west and the Caucasus mountains and Russia to the north-east.

Russia recognised Abkhazia as an independent state in 2008, immediately after the five-day Russia-Georgia war over Tskhinvali region.

Russia’s move to develop a stronger alliance with the breakaway region has been assessed numerous times as a "violation of international law” by the global community.

Meanwhile Surkov also voiced Russian president Vladimir Putin’s decision to continue offering financial assistance to Abkhazia.

"Nowadays the situation in Russia is not that good. We all know this. The budget expenses are being reduced but the Russian President has decided not to suspend financial assistance for Akhazia,” he said.

Russia and Abkhazia’s de facto regime signed a so-called treaty on "Alliance and Strategic Partnership” in November – a move that Georgia assessed as "Russia’s attempt of annexation” of Georgia’s regions.

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

Soon after Moscow signed the document with de facto Abkhazia, the de facto leader of Tskhinvali also expressed interest in signing a similar agreement with Russia.

The draft agreement with Tskhinvali region 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, Russia’s Foreign Ministry issued a press release today that said Russia’s State Secretary and Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin would meet Georgian Prime Minister’s special representative for relations with Russia Zurab Abashidze in Prague, the Czech Republic at the end of February.

"On February 16, State Secretary and Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin spoke by telephone with the Georgian Prime Minister’s special representative for relations with Russia, Zurab Abashidze. The two officials discussed various hands-on aspects of bilateral Russian-Georgian relations. They agreed to schedule the next meeting for the end of February in Prague,” the statement read.

The Karasin-Abashidze negotiations are the only channel of a direct communication between Georgia and Russia since the 2008 war, after which the two countries cut off the diplomatic ties.