Georgian President, MFA Condemn Lukashenka’s Visit to Occupied Abkhazia
President Salome Zurabishvili and the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs both released statements today denouncing Belarussian leader Aleksandr Lukashenka’s 28 September visit to occupied Abkhazia.
“I strongly condemn Aleksandr Lukashenka’s visit to occupied Abkhazia,” President Zurabishvili wrote on Twitter. “This is an unacceptable violation of Georgia’s Law on Occupied Territories and of the principles of our bilateral relations and international law.”
The Georgian MFA meanwhile, expressed its “deep concern” regarding Lukashenka’s visit and his meeting with representatives of the Kremlin-backed Sokhumi authorities.
The MFA conveyed its condemnation while underscoring that Lukashenka’s visit to Abkhazia “blatantly infringes the fundamental principles and norms of international law.”
The Ministry called on Belarus to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia and “not to take actions which contradict the fundamental principles of international law.”
Lukashenka, whose visit came unexpectedly, met with Kremlin-backed Abkhaz leader Aslan Bzhania to discuss bilateral cooperation, as well as international security, and current challenges, in the resort town of Bichvinta. Significantly, this is his first visit to occupied Abkhazia while in office. His last official visit to Tbilisi took place in March 2018.
Notably, the visit occurred after the occupied region’s top diplomat, Inal Ardzinba signed a dual citizenship agreement with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on 27 September, as Georgia marked 29 years since the fall of Sokhumi.
- 28/09/2022 – Belarussian Leader Visits Abkhazia
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)
