The Korea Herald, South Korea’s English-language daily reported on May 18 that Global Honors Network, a local nonprofit, will provide humanitarian assistance to Abkhazia, Georgia’s Russian-occupied region.
The newspaper stated that South Korean nonprofit will send COVID-19 diagnostic test kits for distribution to Abkhaz healthcare providers and set up “the first Korean hospital” locally.
The Korea Herald’s reporting did not specify whether the aid was authorized by Georgia to be transported to the region or – alternatively – it would reach Abkhazia via Russia, violating Georgian law on the occupied territories.
Otar Berdzenishvili, Georgia’s Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, told Civil.ge that the nonprofit had not been licensed by South Korean authorities to export COVID-19 test kits, which bars the organization from delivering the aid through legal channels.
Based on the information at hand, Berdzenishvili stated that Global Honors Network is staffed by a small number of people “with alleged ties to the U.S. and Russia.”
“The person behind this undertaking is said to reside in Russia and hopes to deliver assistance to Abkhazia from Russia,” Berdzenishvili noted.
The Ambassador assessed nonprofit’s actions as “serving [pro-Russian] propaganda purposes.”
Civil.ge also reached to the Ministry of Reconciliation and Civic Equality of Georgia, the country’s main body overseeing the Russian-occupied regions, which could not provide information regarding South Korean nonprofit’s efforts to “provide aid” to the region.
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