First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs Konstantin Zatulin, in a conversation with socialbites.ca, called false and inaccurate accusations that the transfer of the state lodge in Pitsunda to Russia involves the transfer of not only buildings, but also land. opportunist. In his opinion, the decision of the Parliament of Abkhazia only confirms the fact that state summer buildings in Pitsunda are used exclusively by the Russian Federation.
“No one in Russia claimed to annex Abkhazia to Russian territory or to separate a part of Abkhazia from Abkhazia. These were opportunistic, completely false, but disturbing accusations among ordinary people from the very beginning. Accusations not directly related to Russian-Abkhazian relations, but related to the endless internal political struggle going on in Abkhazia, which led to one or another of the presidents being forced to leave early under the influence of the crowd. After this story became a matter of principle for some people, the approval process slowed down, it was decided to hold negotiations, and after several rounds of these negotiations, as far as I understand, they reached an agreement. Because we are not talking about Russia’s claims to the lands of Abkhazia, we are talking about confirmation of a well-known fact: the buildings and structures of the state lodge in Pitsunda were first built in the 19th century, in Union times. Expenses of the Union budget -secondly, they were used only by Russia. “Now we are talking about ensuring that all this finally finds legal regulation in the domestic legislation of Abkhazia,” he said.
The MP recalled that the state lodge in Pitsunda was and remains a sensitive facility. According to him, the protests in Abkhazia are connected with the opposition’s desire to compromise with the government and accuse it of anti-national actions. The MP believes that the opposition and the authorities have enough internal problems to discuss.
“This is only because of the internal political situation and the desire of those who are not in power to endanger this government, to force it with some anti-national actions, selling out Abkhazia, etc. It is the desire to use any excuse to place blame. It is a shame that a certain opposition in Abkhazia used this particular incident to settle scores with the authorities. They have enough internal problems to be the subject of internal debate. This incident is not a cause for internal debate, but it creates a certain atmosphere. Abkhazia really needs Russia’s support. In my opinion, Abkhazia really needs easing of the regime of access to the Russian-Abkhaz border, especially during the holiday season. Abkhazia needs Sukhumi airport to be operational again, and progress has been made in this regard. This has already started, the reopening of Sukhumi airport. But today, using demagogic slogans, people are trying to shake the situation around the state hut in Abkhazia. They don’t care. “The main thing for them is to overthrow the government under any pretext,” he concluded.
The agreement on the transfer of the state lodge in Pitsunda to Russia was signed in the Kremlin on January 19, 2022. According to the document, the Russian Federation received free of charge the property complex of the state lodge “Pitsunda”, a land plot of 180 hectares with the relic park and the adjacent sea area. Since then, a number of changes have been made to the agreement.
The current document does not provide for the transfer of the land on which the state lodge is located to Russian ownership. Its lands are leased to Russia for 49 years and only the buildings are owned. Repair and maintenance will be carried out by the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSO).
On December 27, Abkhazian President Aslan Bzhania signed a law approving the agreement. The other day, the Abkhaz opposition organized a protest against the transfer of buildings to the Russian Federation.
Previously in Abkhazia appeared Problems in the supply of oil products from Russia.