The de facto authorities of Georgia’s western Russian-occupied Abkhazia region on Monday rejected claims over any change in its “statehood”, following the de facto president Aslan Bzhania’s visit to the Kremlin last week. 

Bzhania’s “office” claimed the visit was aimed at strengthening “bilateral ties”. “Citizens of the Republic of Abkhazia were promptly informed about the working visit to Moscow and its goals. However, several media outlets had spread fake information. “Surprisingly, no citizen or public organization has applied for the administration of the President of the Republic of Abkhazia in recent days”, the de facto presidential administration said. 

Russia recognised Georgian regions of Abklhazia and Tskhinvali as independent states following the Russia-Georgia 2008 war. 

Only Venezuela, Nikaragua, Nauru and Syria have joined the illegal recognition so far, with the rest of the international community calling on Russia to withdraw its troops from Georgia.