According to Abkhazian media, the Sokhumi airport is being transferred to Russia, leaving just the airport's access road and electrical distribution point on Abkhazian territory. The Russian Federation and "Investors" shared all other elements of the airport complex. As Nuzhnaya Gazeta reports, the airport's investor is the Russian company Basic Element Ltd., which is registered in the Virgin Islands and affiliated with the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.
Oleg Deripaska, enriched by oil and aluminum business, along with other persons, was imposed sanctions by the United States of America back in 2018. He is one of the most influential oligarchs in Putin's inner circle. According to the opposition leader Alexei Navalny's inquiry, the relatives of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov enjoy Oleg Deripaska's yachts, jets, and palaces. In return, Lavrov provides his protection.
According to an Abkhazian media outlet, on August 11, at the meeting held in Sokhumi between the ministers of economy of Russia and Abkhazia, the topic of the restoration of Vladislav Ardzinba Airport in Sokhumi was discussed, but under the following conditions: the terms for its realization, as well as the right to control the runways of the aircraft and air operations facilities, remain under Abkhaz control. However, the Russian side took upon itself the restoration and sale of other complexes. According to the Ministry of Economy of Abkhazia, "This is a joint project with detailed goals." The Russian minister also inspected the work started to restore the airport, which has been often reported to start operating in 2024 with Russian investment.
Sokhumi Airport and its airspace have been closed since 1993, are not certified, and have not been assigned a four-digit location code by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which recognises Abkhazia as a constituent part of Georgia. Accordingly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, as well as the Civil Aviation Agency, state that "international flights cannot be carried out in the region of occupied Abkhazia, as this is against international law, ICAO statutes, and Georgian legislation."
"I have repeatedly become the subject of criticism. However, times are changing, and tourism is becoming an additional stimulus. The code of the Russian airport will probably be used for the Sukhum [Sokhumi] airport", said Aslan Bzhania, the president of the de facto republic of Abkhazia, in response to the Georgian side.
