Highland Abkhaz village put on database of Russian public registry

A part of the highland Abkhaz village Aibgha, located on the official Georgia-Russia border, has been registered as Russian territory. 

The village is located in a district of the Abkhaz town of Gagra and opinions on which country it belongs to have been controversial for years as the Russia-Georgia border divides it into two parts.

The village is located on both sides of the river Psou. Photo: www.cyxymu.info.

The Georgian Foreign Ministry reports that Russia first put the village in its database in 2002 and afterwards in 2009, but the Georgian government at the time “did not react at all.”

The state body says the registration of the village part as if it belongs to Russia “is a continuation of the annexation of Georgian regions,” the Foreign Ministry reports.

The Georgian Foreign Ministry says Russia put the village on its database first in 2002. Photo: www.cyxymu.info.

The state body says Russia “violates the principles of international law” acting in this manner.

The state border between Georgia and Russia including sections of the Abkhaz and Tskhinvali regions cannot be demarked while Russia has occupied the Georgian regions,” the ministry states.

The Georgian Foreign Ministry reports that no deal can be made in these circumstances with Russia or de-facto [Abkhaz and Ossetian] governments as they will have no legal power.