President calls for int’l reaction over de facto authorities’ plans in occupied Abkhazia to lease lands to Russia
A long-term lease of the Soviet-era resort town of Bichvinta to Russia was first decided by de facto authorities in 1995, before protests by the local population led to no practical steps being taken.
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Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Tuesday called on the international community to “strongly react” to the recent decision of the de facto authorities in Georgia’s Russian-occupied breakaway Abkhazia region to transfer 186 hectares of territory in the Bichvinta resort town to Russia on a 49-year lease.
In her remarks on Twitter, Zourabichvili stressed that transfer of the well-known, coastal resort territory to the occupier was a “form of annexation” and the result of the “continued occupation” of the Georgian lands by Russia.
What we’re seeing in Bichvinta is a form of annexation of Georgian territory by Russia. We see a strong popular reaction to the developments. This is the result of continued occupation
— Salome Zourabichvili (@Zourabichvili_S) July 25, 2022
I strongly condemn this and call on the international community to strongly react to this.
The local media outlets reported that the agreement on the transfer was signed in Moscow on January 19, 2022, but it became known only on July 11, when the de facto parliament started to discuss the deal, sparking internal tension.
The agreement said that all constructions on the territory of the Bichvinta holiday area would become the property of the Russian Federal Protection Service, while the surrounding lands would be transferred to Russia on a 49-year lease, which is 186 hectares, the size of about 300 football fields.
An earlier agreement on the location dating back to 1995, allowed Russians to have unlimited and free access to the resort territory, but without the ownership right.
The idea to grant Russia the right of ownership over the territory 12 years ago angered locals and the issue was removed from the agenda.
Russia recognised two Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) as independent states after the Russia-Georgia 2008 war, with only Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru and Syria joining the move so far.
The rest of the international community have been calling on Russia over years to withdraw its troops from the Georgian territory.
The “truth” about the 2008 Russia-Georgia war has been confirmed in international courts through Georgia winning legal battles against Russia, Archil Talakvadze, the Georgian Parliament Vice Speaker, said in reaction to the European Court of Human Rights decision on inadmissibility of complaints by residents living in the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region (South Ossetia) on Thursday.
The answer to Russia's aggression is European Union and European integration, Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said during her visit to Brussels on Thursday where she met the President of the European Council Charles Michel.
The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday adopted a resolution on the status of internally displaced persons and refugees from the Russian-occupied Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) regions of Georgia.
The ongoing Russian occupation of Georgian territories has been called the “biggest challenge” among those facing the country by Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, who on Friday addressed a discussion held at the Global Security Forum in Bratislava.
Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday called for “increased international pressure” over the recent decision of the de facto authorities in Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia region to transfer 186 hectares of territory in the Bichvinta resort town to Russia on a 49-year lease.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday responded to the recent decision of the de facto authorities in Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia region to transfer 186 hectares of territory in the Bichvinta resort town to Russia on a 49-year lease by saying that “not only Bichvinta, but the entire Abkhazia and Samachablo (Tskhinvali/South Ossetia region) have been temporarily occupied by Russia”.
Mikheil Sarjveladze, the Chairman of the Committee on Human Rights of the Georgian Parliament, on Wednesday said no transaction over real estate in the Russian-occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) regions of Georgia had legal status, in response to reports of the Sokhumi Airport in the regional capital of Abkhazia being subject of plans for its transfer to Russian state ownership.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry on Friday condemned the recent visit of Vyacheslav Volodin, the Speaker of the Russian Duma, to Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia region, saying the move was “yet another violation of fundamental principles and international law” by Moscow.
Nikoloz Samkharadze, the Georgian Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee Chair, on Wednesday “strongly” condemned the illegal transfer of territory in the Bichvinta resort town in Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia region to Russia.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday condemned the ratification of the transfer to Russia of Bichvinta holiday retreat in the country’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia region by the de facto parliament of the regime as “another illegal act” recorded as part of the occupation.