Loading ...Deal gives Russia greater control over Abkhazia
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia further tightened its control over Georgia’s breakaway province of Abkhazia on Monday with a new treaty envisaging closer military and economic ties, a move that has drawn outrage in Georgia.
Under the treaty signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Abkhazia’s leader, Russian and Abkhazian forces will come under joint command.
While the Russian troops have been deployed in Abkhazia for more than two decades since it broke away from Georgian in a separatist war in the early 1990s, the agreement reflected an attempt by Moscow to further expand its presence in the lush Black Sea region of 240,000.
Coming amid a chill in Russia-West ties over the Ukrainian crisis, the deal raises further suspicions about Moscow’s intentions. The Georgian Foreign Ministry has denounced the new agreement as a “step toward annexation” of Abkhazia and warned it jeopardize efforts to normalize ties with Russia.
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