TBILISI, April 30 – The Council of Europe (CoE) says its officials were again unable to visit Abkhazia and South Ossetia, leaving outside observers dependent on meetings in Tbilisi and information from international actors. The access problem is brought up once more in the Council of Europe Secretary General’s 33rd consolidated report on the conflict, … Read more
TBILISI, April 15 – Claims that the railway in self-proclaimed Abkhazia could compete with the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars transport corridor are exaggerated, according to new report by the Transport Corridor Research Center (TCRC). The report was a response to recent public claims from the head of the container terminal in Ochamchire, who said the route through Abkhazia … Read more
TBILISI, March 5 – Authorities in the breakaway region of Abkhazia said Thursday that dozens of drones were detected overnight across the territory, with debris reportedly found in multiple settlements. Adgur Gunba, who is described as the commander of the so-called air forces of Abkhazia, said the region experienced what he called an unprecedented incident … Read more
TBILISI, December 9 – A long-running project to build a customs terminal at the Enguri crossing in Abkhazia has moved into its final phase, according to Ekho Kavkaza. Astamur Aksalba, presented as the head of a local transit and logistics company, said construction is about 80 percent finished and that Sukhumi is “hypothetically ready” to … Read more
TBILISI, October 20 – Abkhazia has started shipping its new tangerine crop to Russia, marking the opening of this year’s citrus export season, according to Marina Zhupanova, spokesperson for the Sochi customs office, who spoke to Interfax on Monday. Zhupanova said that the “tangerine season has opened on the Russia–Abkhazia border,” and that the first … Read more
TBILISI, October 17 – Explosions were heard overnight in the Russian resort city of Sochi, where local authorities said air defenses shot down incoming missiles and drones. Sochi’s mayor, Andrey Proshunin, said all emergency services had been placed on high alert and were working under the coordination of the city’s operational headquarters. He later confirmed … Read more
TBILISI, October 7 – A pest that first appeared in Abkhazia about eight years ago has now become a permanent local species, Abkhaz authorities say, but its threat to harvests has faded, officials add. Vladimir Geria, head of the Plant Protection Service at Abkhazia’s de facto Ministry of Agriculture, told Apsnipress that the insect known … Read more
TBILISI, September 18 – More than 70,000 passengers have flown on direct routes between Russia and Abkhazia since Moscow resumed air links to the breakaway region earlier this year, according to Russian aviation chief Dmitry Yadrovo in a briefing with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. Flights into Sukhumi, the capital of Abkhazia, restarted on May 1, … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–More than 700 people were detained on charges of crossing the de facto border between Abkhazia and Georgia in 2023, states security service of the breakaway Abkhazia. Most of them were punished administratively, and criminal prosecution was started against 15. According to the Sokhumi regime government, only 30 of these “crimes” are related to … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch – De facto authorities of breakaway Abkhazia are ready to revive the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) discussions, Sokhumi regime deputy foreign minister Irakli Tuzhba said during the video conference with Russian and South Ossetian colleagues Tuesday. “The Abkhaz side has prepared another package of proposals to unfreeze the MPRI format. I hope … Read more