The de facto Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia, Sergei Shamba, on Tuesday confirmed Moscow had suspended its financial assistance to the region as of September 1, due to the “failure to meet specific obligations”.
Shamba disclosed that Moscow had previously warned of potential sanctions if the obligations were not fulfilled. “As of September 1, some social funding has already been suspended, affecting sectors such as healthcare, education, and security forces,” he said during a briefing. Shamba also mentioned that Abkhazia will now have to pay a commercial price for the electricity it receives from Russia during the winter months.
Shamba also addressed concerns over the authenticity of a recently published protocol from a meeting between de facto Abkhaz President Aslan Bzhania and a senior Russian official. Shamba confirmed that Bzhania met with the Deputy Head of the Russian Presidential Administration on August 19, but noted the protocol was finalized on August 26, without Bzhania’s direct involvement in drafting the document.
“Our president was not present during the creation of the document and therefore cannot verify its content. The only statement from him is that the commitments mentioned in the document do not accurately reflect his position,” Shamba clarified, directing reporters to the de facto Abkhazian president’s website for further details.
Shamba also commented on reports suggesting the potential revocation of Russian citizenship for certain members of the de facto Abkhazian parliament and opposition figures, acknowledging that such sanctions were becoming increasingly common. “This is a prerogative of the Russian government. Similar measures have been taken against members of the South Ossetian parliament, and we have no influence over these decisions,” he claimed.
The protocol reportedly outlined several demands from Moscow, including the ratification of an agreement on the recognition and enforcement of court and arbitration decisions on economic matters, the implementation of investment projects by Russian entities in Abkhazia, and the removal of restrictions on Russian investors in the commercial real estate market.
