Abkhazia's de facto parliament has ratified a controversial “agreement“ with Moscow under which a state resort in the breakaway Georgian territory will be transferred to Russia. The deal made in January 2022 calls for the Bichvinta country house to be handed over to Russia, leading to outcry from opposition groups who have been protesting in front of the parliament building and on December 27 called the ratification of the “agreement“ "shameful."
The de -facto President of Abkhazia, Aslan Bzhania signed the ratification “document“ already, at 9 a.m.
It was first decided in 1995 that Bichvinta would be transferred to Russia through a long-term lease, although no practical steps have been taken since then. Russia has stepped up its efforts to finalize the deal, with the text of a new “agreement“ to transfer the land for 49 years emerging on January 19, 2022, which was ratified today. The issue has been a hot topic of discussion in Abkhazia ever since, with both the public and officials divided on the matter. In May this year, young activists were arrested while protesting against the transfer.
