Lavrov Visits Sokhumi
Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, arrived in the Abkhaz capital, Sokhumi, on September 14.
Sergey Shamba, the foreign minister of the breakaway region, told RIA Novosti news agency that issues related to the establishment of diplomatic ties between Moscow and Sokhumi, as well as a planned comprehensive agreement on friendship and cooperation, would be discussed during the visit.
A Moscow-based Rustavi 2 TV journalist, who is among a group of reporters accompanying Lavrov on his trip to Sokhumi, reported that a flag-waving crowd along the route from Babushera airport to Sokhumi center greeted the Russian foreign minister.
After visiting Sokhumi, Lavrov also plans to travel to Tskhinvali, the capital of breakaway South Ossetia.
Eka Tkeshelashvili, the Georgian foreign minister, who condemned the visits of her Russian counterpart, said they were an attempt by Russia to confer a level of statehood on the two breakaway regions.
