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Sokhumi Wants Maritime Link with Turkey

Negotiations on establishing a maritime link between breakaway Abkhazia and Turkey are ongoing. Final agreement, however, has not been reached.


Abkhaz Foreign Minister Sergey Shamba said the issue had also been discussed during a meeting of the UN Secretary General?s Group of Friends in Bonn in late June, the Abkhaz news agency, Apsnipress, reported on July 13.


Shamba emphasised that the maritime link between Sokhumi and Turkey?s Trabzon would be instrumental in restoring ties between Abkhazia and the ethnic Abkhaz community in Turkey.


The sticking point in the negotiations seems to be in terms of who should inspect vessels and where. ?Georgia had insisted on inspecting vessels in the ports of Poti or Batumi,” Shamba said. “We, however, rejected this proposal. Then the Georgian side suggested inspecting ships in international waters. But this proposal is also unacceptable.? 


Sokhumi is insisting that only Russian peacekeepers or UN observers be allowed to inspect vessels.


Discussion on the maritime link first emerged in 2005. Since then, however, the issue had remained closed, at least publicly.

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)

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