Russian naval base corresponds to the interests of Abkhazia - President of the Republic
The deployment of a base for ships of the Russian Navy in the Abkhazian port of Ochamchira corresponds to the interests of the republic.
The President of Abkhazia, Aslan Bzhania, announced this at a press conference, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“We are constantly strengthening the defense capabilities of our state. It will be necessary to find appropriate funds for this. We are looking for them. But here the position taken by our ally is very important. We act as a united front on this issue. On Victory Day, a small rocket ship came to us (“Cyclone” - ed.). It is very efficient and equipped with modern weapons. Did you notice what the reaction was to the entry of this ship.
We are interested in the location. This is in the interests of all residents of Abkhazia - to ensure lasting peace. And this can be done by strengthening our armed forces, which is what we are doing together with the leadership of the Russian Federation. Therefore, the naval base and logistics support point will be deployed in the port of Ochimchira. This area of work will only intensify. This will be a military unit that will perform relevant tasks,” Bzhania said.
He clarified that the decree of the Government of Abkhazia on the allocation of land for a base point has already been signed.
On October 5, the Georgian Foreign Ministry expressed concern about plans to create a Russian naval base in Abkhazia and called it “a blatant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia.”
Since the 1930s, the port of Ochamchira has been a base for border courts of the Transcaucasian Military District. Since the 1960s, there was a separate brigade of patrol ships there, which carried out tasks to protect the state border of the USSR. In 1996, a brigade of the Russian Navy was withdrawn from Ochamchira to Kaspiysk in Dagestan.
Russian naval base is in Abkhazia's interests, says the republic's president