MOSCOW, August 26 (RIA Novosti) – A new intergovernmental agreement with Russia may be signed by the year-end, Abkhazia’s newly elected President Raul Hajimba said.
“I think that it [new agreement] will be signed by the end of this year. It will entail the issues, related to the problems of security, border, social and many other issues important for our small country,” Hajimba said in an interview with Izvestiya newspaper, published on Tuesday.
Last week, Raul Hajimba told RIA Novosti that a new intergovernmental agreement with Russia could benefit Abkhazia, although he believed associative relations with the country were excessive.
He also stressed that in light of the recently signed EU-Georgia Association Agreement, Abkhazia needs to focus on fortifying its southern border and broadening cooperation with Russia, as a guarantor of the country’s independence.
Georgia’s former Abkhazian republic held a presidential election on Sunday after a major split between the government and the opposition triggered a wave of protests across the country forcing president Alexander Ankvab to step down on June 1.
On Monday, Batal Tabagua, the Chairman of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Abkhazia, announced that the presidential poll had been recognized as valid with no significant violations registered. Opposition leader Hajimba, who formerly served as the country’s vice president and prime minister, secured victory garnering 50.57 per cent of the votes.
Abkhazia broke away from Georgia following an ethnically tinged war in 1992-1993, just after the Soviet collapse. It has been officially recognized by a handful of countries, including Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Nauru. Tuvalu recognized Abkhazia’s independence in September 2011 but withdrew its recognition in March 2014. Most countries continue to consider Abkhazia as part of Georgia.
