De facto Abkhaz leader’s ‘advisor’ resigns after Alliance of Patriots’ controvesial visit to occupied Abkhazia
Lasha Sakhania said upon his resignation that his ‘Russian friends’ had asked him to take an icon from the Alliance of Patriots. Photo: Lasha Sakhania/Facebook
Tweet 
Share
Lasha Sakania, the ‘advisor’ to the de facto leader of the Russia-occuied Abkhazia region of Georgia, has resigned amid controversies over his recent meeting with the opposition party the Alliance of Patriots of Georgia.
Sakhania, who had previously claimed that the visit of the Alliance of Patriots had purely humanitarian purposes, announced his resignation today after Abkhaz 'opposition’ discouraged the Georgian opposition's visit.
Vice Parliament Speaker of Georgia, Irma Inashvili, who is also the leader of opposition Alliance of Patriots paid a visit to occupied Abkhazia on August 18 together with her party member Giorgi Lomia.
Inashvili posted the photos of the trip on August 24, noting that the two had visited Abkhazia to donate an icon of Virgin Mary to the Ilori church of St. George in Ochamchire district.
Irma Inashvili at the Ilori Church. Photo: Irma Inashvili/Facebook
Sakhania stated earlier that his ‘old friends’ from the Russian Federation had asked him to help the Alliance of Patriots deliver an icon to the Ilori church and the visit had no political reasons. Irma Inashvili also confirmed to the Tbilisi-based Rustavi 2 TV that it was her party's decision to deliver the icon to the Ilori Church.
How Inashvili and Lomia managed to travel to the Abkhazia region remains a question as the Enguri Bridge connecting the Russia-occupied region with the rest of Georgia has been closed since late February, when the first case of coronavirus was confirmed in Georgia.
Earlier this week Georgian opposition parties demanded the Alliance of Patriots be prohibited from running in the October parliamentary elections as the Dossier Center released its investigative documents saying the Kremlin financially supports its leaders.