Sukhumi has announced the abandonment of plans to build a Russian naval base in Ochamchira.
According to Abkhazia's de facto Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba, today Russian border boats are already stationed there.
"No Russian naval base is planned in Ochamchira. There is a border point where border boats are stationed," TASS quoted Shamba as saying.
He added that the Abkhazian authorities are "ready for any turn of events" given that "there are hostilities in the waters of the Black Sea."
Russia recognized the independence of Abkhazia and another breakaway Georgian region, South Ossetia, after the August 2008 war. Georgia officially declared these regions occupied. The international community considers them an inseparable part of Georgia.
The port of Ochamchira has been under direct Russian control since 2009, after the Kremlin signed cooperation agreements to secure the "borders" with the de facto leadership of the occupied regions. Since then, a brigade of patrol ships of the Russian Federal Security Service's border guard service has been operating in Ochamchira.
In the fall of 2023, Abkhazian leader Aslan Bzhania announced the signing of an agreement with the Kremlin on a permanent naval base in Ochamchira. In January 2024, Shamba, while serving as secretary of the Abkhazian Security Council, stated that by the end of the year a permanent stationing point of the Russian Navy was planned to be opened in the Ochamchira bay.
After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the port was dredged and construction works were carried out.
Georgia's anti-occupation movement showed footage of construction work in the port of Ochamchira
The Georgian Foreign Ministry harshly condemned Russia's plans, calling them a gross violation of the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Nevertheless, the Georgian Dream government insisted that the new base would not pose an immediate threat to the country in the near future.
Zurabishvili: "Russia's new naval base in Ochamchira is a threat to the entire region"
The opposition has a different opinion on this issue. Opponents of the authorities have expressed fears that the base could draw Georgia into Russia's war against Ukraine. They also pointed to the risks for the Anaklia deep-water port project. The Black Sea village, which is planned to be turned into the main trade and logistics hub of the region, is only 35 kilometers from Ochamchir.
Reprinted from newsgeorgia.ge
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