Parliament Speaker calls for “increased international pressure” over de facto authorities’ plans in occupied Abkhazia to lease lands to Russia
In his remarks over the matter Papuashvili stressed the situation around the territory in Bichvinta was the result of the Russian occupation. Photo: Parliament of Georgia
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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.
In his remarks over the matter Papuashvili stressed the situation around the territory in Bichvinta was the result of the Russian occupation.
What we see [in Bichvinta] is the result of the occupation [of Georgian territories]. This is not only the problem of Bichvinta, but of Abkhazia as a whole, which is occupied by a foreign country [Russia]. Here too, the solution lies in increased international pressure and in showing our Abkhazian brothers and sisters what prospects they have in a united Georgia”, the head of the legislative body said.
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.
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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.
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 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.
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.
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Irakli Kadagishvili, the Chair of the Rules and Procedural Issues Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, on Tuesday said Russia “has to fulfil” the terms of the ceasefire agreement that ended the 2008 war between the countries.