Abkhazian official reiterates willingness to join Union State

March 5, Pozirk. The foreign minister of Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia has reiterated its interest in joining the Union State of Russia and Belarus.

“One of the key tasks today is the Belarusian project,” Inal Ardzinba said, as quoted by TASS. “Although we do not have diplomatic relations with Belarus yet, our heads of state have made reciprocal visits.”

“We realize that the path to the Union State is rather long, substantive and complicated. Nevertheless, a significant and overwhelming part of our country’s population supports this approach,” he said.

On February 21, Abkhazian ruler Aslan Bzhania said the region “wants to be together with Belarus and Russia.”

According to him, the Union State is “a format where independent states agree to create supranational structures on mutually beneficial terms.”

Sukhumi “is ready for it” but needs to “go through a certain stage,” Bzhania said. “Normative acts should be prepared, and this story could take 5-10 years, just like the recognition of Abkhazia’s independence by Russia.”

Abkhazia is a self-proclaimed state on Georgian territory. Its independence has been recognized by Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Nauru, and Syria. After the 2008 armed conflict, in which Abkhazia was vigorously supported by Russia, Tbilisi lost de facto control over the region.

Legally, Belarus has not recognized Abkhazia’s independence.

In September 2022, after a long stay in Sochi and talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Alaksandar Łukašenka suddenly visited Pitsunda and met with Bzhania. Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili and the country’s foreign ministry condemned the move.

In February 2023, Łukašenka received Bzhania in Minsk. The Georgian head of state and foreign ministry again criticized the Belarusian authorities for these contacts, which bypassed Tbilisi.

A week after the meeting, it was revealed that Abkhazia planned to send wine and other goods to Belarus in exchange for dairy products.