To the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Mr. Ilia Darchiashvili

Mr. Minister,

As you may know, the Abkhazian society is through acute debates for the last weeks concerning the delegation of the coastline and the water area adjacent to the former state cottages in Bichvinta (Pitsunda) to Russia for 49 years; the so-called agreement based on which this territory is to be delegated under the Russian ownership was signed on January 19, 2022. As of the present, this so-called agreement is under consideration in the de-facto Parliament of Abkhazia.

According to the draft of this so-called agreement, 186 hectares of land and 115 hectares of water in Bichvinta are to be delegated under Russian ownership; all the premises fall under the property of the Federal Security Service and the Black Sea equatorial area and the adjacent lands are to be delegated to Russia under leasing for 49 years. The Parliament of Georgia, back in 2015 assessed the conclusion of the so-called agreement with the de-facto authorities of the regions occupied by Russia as a step to annexation; however, the Russian Federation keeps the factual annexation of Abkhazia and last year, connected the village Aibga of Gagra region to the Krasnodar Krai.

On this occasion, the Parliament of Georgia adopted the Resolution on August 2, 2021, on “Peaceful Resolution of the Russia-Georgia Conflict and De-Occupation”, recognizing the actions taken by Russia as the annexation and the connection of the village Aibga of the Gagra region to the Krasnodar Krai as inadmissible and illegal; the Resolution also provides the call on for the expression of the unanimous position against the annexation by the international partners.

At that, the Resolution calls on the Government to develop a unanimous national vision and inclusive policy on the de-occupation and peaceful resolution of the conflict, as well as the national strategy for countering the hybrid threats, however, none has been implemented. Providing all the above-mentioned facts and the current situation, we believe it inadmissible to be silent and inactive which we witness by your agency towards the factual annexation of Bichvinta and the so-called agreement. The Foreign Ministry carries the official duty to make an official statement to clearly estimate the above-mentioned facts as annexation.

The statement by the Ministry is in direct connection with the national interest on de-occupation and the Parliamentary Resolution, as well as the call on and cooperation with the Western partners.

Sincerely,
Levan Ioseliani,
Teona Akubardia,
Ana Buchukuri,
Tamar Kordzaia,
Aleko Elisashvili,
Khatuna Samnidze,
Vakhtang Megrelishvili