Airbnb removes listings in Russian occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali

Airbnb has e to remove listings in Georgia’s regions of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) and Abkhazia, occupied by Russia.

The move comes after a case lodged by the Framework for Evaluating Listings in Disputed Areas.

“Pursuant to application of the company’s global framework for disputed territories, Airbnb had concerns that because homes — the core of the Airbnb business — are a central element of the dispute among stakeholders in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Airbnb’s listings could be implicated in ongoing tensions. In applying the global framework to these disputed territories, Airbnb determined that the existence of the listings in these disputed territories has a direct connection to the larger conflict in the region,” the company said in a release published on its website.

Airbnb is a global platform operating in 191 countries and regions and more than 81,000 cities.