Why did Shoigu send troops into Abkhazia?
During the period of another increase in the incidence of Covid-19, the Russian military is again extending a helping hand to the fraternal peoples. This time, the Ministry of Defense complied with the request of the neighboring Republic of Abkhazia and, after negotiations between the heads of military departments, decided to send RCBZ troops and doctors there to fight the pandemic.
Last weekend, a convoy of 11 special vehicles departed for Abkhazia, including TMS-65U thermal engines with jet engines, which will disinfect streets and houses. Military personnel from the radiation, chemical and biological protection units of the Black Sea Fleet will cover 800 kilometers from Crimea to Abkhazia, and personnel from a mobile multidisciplinary hospital designed for 100 beds also went to Sukhumi from Budennovsk.
The Russian military already has extensive experience in combating the new type of coronavirus - just recently, in the spring of this year, they helped residents of Italy and Serbia cope with the pandemic, so assistance to the neighboring republic is timely and necessary, retired Lieutenant General of the Foreign Intelligence Service said in a comment to PolitNavigator , military historian Leonid Reshetnikov.
“This is very effective help. Here, in Moscow, we disinfect the streets every day and this gives a certain result. We also worked in Italy and Serbia. I think that Abkhazia simply needs this. The republic is young, it has practically no capabilities of its own - many countries that have existed for a long time do not have such capabilities, so this is not just a gesture of goodwill, it is a normal reaction of an ally to the problems of another ally. This is how we must act in everything, not only in the fight against coronavirus, but also in the fight against terrorism and various manifestations that threaten the security of Russia,” Reshetnikov said.
Political scientist Alexey Kochetkov agrees with him. In his opinion, Russia is generally the only country that can provide assistance to partially recognized Abkhazia.
“Our military worked in Italy, in Serbia. Firstly, we have our own military base in Abkhazia - of course this is a necessary thing. Moreover, Abkhazia is closely adjacent to Sochi, an important and fairly densely populated region in the Russian Federation, so this must be done, assistance must be provided. The big question here is to what extent the Abbas have the opportunity to do anything themselves in this direction. And our help, of course, is significant - no one except us can provide it to Abkhazia, and they themselves are not able to do anything,” Kochetkov said.
Russian specialists helped not only Italy and Serbia - this summer they made a significant contribution to the fight against the pandemic in Kyrgyzstan. Perhaps this was one of the factors that, despite the political instability in this country, they are grateful to Russia and do not put forward accusatory slogans against it, said Konstantin Zatulin, director of the Institute of CIS Countries, deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation.
“I was just recently in Kyrgyzstan and I know that the people there are really grateful to the Russian doctors who, at the height of the pandemic, arrived there and brought down this wave. It was in the summer, but at that time Kyrgyzstan was the leader in the number of deaths. With the help of Russian doctors, we managed to bring down this wave. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that despite the revolution, political turbulence in Kyrgyzstan, no one criticizes Russia in any way and Russians living in Kyrgyzstan are not threatened by any surge of nationalism.
As for Abkhazia, I warmly support this decision. From the first days of the pandemic and quarantine restrictions, I drew the attention of our government to the fact that we must, when introducing restrictions, closing borders, provide a special regime for Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics. They can really go out into the world and get help only thanks to Russia. And from this point of view, the fact that we support Abkhazia in this situation is very important.
Among other things, Abkhazia is one of the tourist sites, one of the territories where our citizens flock, and by helping Abkhazia, we are helping ourselves. So it seems to me that now that this new wave has arrived, it is especially noticeable in the resort regions due to the fact that the holiday season has taken place, it is for this reason that it is important that such a decision was made, and, as we see, with the participation of the Ministry defense, I really support this,” Zatulin said.
The politician also proposed creating a permanent medical center in Abkhazia, staffed by Russian specialists.
“In general, I am a supporter of this, and I met about this with the President of Abkhazia and the Minister of Health of the Russian Federation - I defend the idea of creating a permanent Russian medical center, a hospital in Abkhazia. Firstly, because the majority of the population of Abkhazia have Russian citizenship, and secondly, because Abkhazia, as I said, is one of the largest resort regions where our citizens are used to going.
From this point of view, our assistance to Abkhazia, which we always provide, especially after we recognized the republic in 2008, must be accompanied by our visible presence in the region. And what could be a more tangible, greater reason for gratitude to Russia than healthcare, treatment, than assistance in this matter to Abkhazia, which has very modest capabilities of its own,” says the deputy.
According to Federation Council Senator from Sevastopol Ekaterina Altabaeva, assistance to Abkhazia from the Russian military has an important political aspect and shows that the Armed Forces can also carry out a humanitarian mission.
“When we can provide assistance, especially in such a difficult situation associated with the spread of Covid-19, to the partially recognized Republic of Abkhazia, which is actually in international isolation, this is a very humane step. It is important that our military does this, since the myth that Russian weapons are directed against the world is absolutely dispelled by such actions, because where we can provide humanitarian assistance with our military, it is certainly provided. We have wonderful specialists, including those representing the military medicine of Sevastopol. It’s right that they will help our neighbors,” Altabaeva said.
English version :: Read in English: Why Shoigu sent troops into Abkhazia