SUKHUMI, August 12 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin arrived in Abkhazia on Wednesday for a one-day working visit.
It is the first visit of a high-level Russian delegation to the former Georgian republic, which Russia recognized as an independent state last August after a five-day war with Georgia over South Ossetia, which Moscow also recognized as independent.
Putin is scheduled to meet with the Abkhaz leadership to discuss the development of Russian-Abkhaz relations and the republic's security.
Prior to the visit, Putin said Russia would allocate 15-16 billion rubles (over $465 mln) in 2010 to boost security along Abkhazian borders.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited South Ossetia in July, a trip that Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili called "immoral" and "despicable."
