Abkhaz Opposition Decries Bzhania’s Calls on ‘Sharing Sovereignty’ with Moscow

The People’s Patriotic Union of Abkhazia, a newly-established group uniting several opposition outfits, said Aslan Bzhania’s calls for sharing sovereignty with Russia amount to surrendering national interests, which contravenes the ‘constitution’ and the laws of the occupied region.

At the recent meeting with the intelligentsia, Bzhania reportedly said: “We will have to share a part of our sovereignty… And I don’t see any tragedy in this, we essentially shared it with foreign policy issues, the ruble zone… In matters of defense and security, something has already been done, more needs to be done … I see in this only positive things, because it is an expensive, unaffordable event for us to maintain modern armed forces…”

In the open missive to Abkhaz leader, dated December 2, the People’s Patriotic Union of Abkhazia warned Bzhania that similar statements “that contradict current legislation and international agreements, pose a direct threat to the social and political stability and statehood” of Abkhazia.

The opposition group said against the background of internal problems, including the crises in energy and law enforcement systems, and the COVID-19 pandemic which resulted in the death of more than 500 residents, “public calls to ‘share sovereignty’ look, to put it mildly, blasphemous.”

The Patriotic Union also wrote that while the strategic partnership with Russia is “an unconditional and obvious fact,” these relations are enshrined in the “interstate agreements” which stress “equal, partnership relations.”

“Public discussions and attempts at revisions that run counter to the spirit and content of the basic agreements are unacceptable,” the group wrote.

They said “such deliberate actions” by Bzhania stir anti-Russian sentiments in Abkhaz public and cause “irreparable harm to Russian-Abkhaz allied relations.”

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