3 September 2024
Abkhazia’s Foreign Minister has confirmed that Russia has cut financial support to Abkhazia for failing to enact pro-Russian reforms.
Sergei Shamba told reporters on Tuesday that Russia had suspended the Socio-Economic Development Programme for Abkhazia two days earlier, on Sunday.
Russian financial aid makes up a large proportion of Abkhazia’s government budget.
The move comes amidst a growing rift between Abkhazia and Russia, with widespread public backlash over a number of measures pushed by the government with Moscow’s support.
These included the sale of the Pitsunda state dacha to Russia despite public anger. Earlier this year, the government was forced to drop a bill that would have legalised the sale of apartments to foreigners, a long running demand from Russia, after it became clear the government did not have the necessary numbers in parliament to pass it.
Speaking on Tuesday, Shamba called the suspension of the Russian aid programme a ‘serious blow’ to Abkhazia’s relations with Russia, and said it would result in Russia cutting its assistance in providing salaries for doctors, teachers, and security forces in Abkhazia.
He also confirmed that Russia would charge Abkhazia, which is heavily reliant on subsidised Russian energy, for electricity at a commercial rate.
‘These are obviously the first such steps. In addition, from now on the electricity flow that we face every winter will have to be paid at commercial prices’, said Shamba.
Shamba’s statement appears to confirm the contents of a document leaked on 29 August purported to be the meeting minutes of a previous meeting between President Aslan Bzhaniya and the Deputy Head of the Russian Presidential Administration, Dmitry Kozak, in Moscow.
The document suggested that Moscow informed Sukhumi (Sukhum) that they would halt budgetary support to Abkhazia until a number of pro-Russian reforms were enacted. Those reportedly included lifting restrictions on the purchase of real estate in Abkhazia by Russian citizens, adopting an agreement that would mutually recognise court decisions, the adoption of the foreign agent law, and the ratification of an agreement on investment activities.
Shamba did not confirm Tuesday whether the leaked document was authentic, but stated that his ministry had not received a similar document and that he was unable to comment on its contents.
‘The issues that are in the distributed document were repeatedly voiced at various meetings, starting with a meeting of the President of Abkhazia in the Russian Presidential Administration, the vice president, the head of the [Abkhazian] Presidential Administration, the speaker of the Abkhazian parliament, and members of parliament.’
‘Failure to fulfil our obligations may entail certain sanctions’, said Shamba.
During the press conference on Tuesday, Shamba dodged questions about a demand in the leaked document for Abkhazia to provide information about MPs and opposition leaders to deprive them of Russian citizenship.
He instead said that the public should not be worried about opposition figures being stripped of their Russian citizenship, but that Abkhazia had spoiled its relations with Russia.
‘There is so much negativity pouring out on the relations between Russia and Abkhazia in Abkhaz social networks, and it is falling on the ambassador. This cannot but affect our relations’, he said. ‘Let us work together to improve relations with our strategic ally’.
According to Russian media, more than half of Abkhazia’s population holds Russian citizenship.
He stressed that Russia had the right to strip ‘those who deserve such sanctions’ of their Russian citizenship, citing a precedent in which Russia stripped South Ossetian MPs of their Russian passports earlier in 2024.
‘Today, this is a completely applicable sanction in the world, it is used all the time, why go far when members of the South Ossetian parliament were deprived of citizenship. This is the prerogative of the Russian side. This is an issue that we cannot influence in any way.’
‘We must ask ourselves how we intend to live on, whether we are ready to tighten our belts’, he said.
For ease of reading, we choose not to use qualifiers such as ‘de facto’, ‘unrecognised’, or ‘partially recognised’ when discussing institutions or political positions within Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. This does not imply a position on their status.
