Occupied Abkhazia’s leader Aslan Bzhania hosted the authoritarian leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, at the "state country house" of Bichvinta. The press service of the "president" of the de facto republic disseminates information about this.
According to Bzhania, Lukashenko "is a long-awaited and very desirable guest for Abkhazia." The Abkhaz leader added that at the CIS summit in January 1996, Lukashenka came out against Abkhazia's post-war economic blockade. "You said that isolation of Abkhazia, an economic blockade is a wrong decision. Abkhazia knows about this and appreciates it. We are connected by good human relations. We are happy with your visit," said Bzhania.
Bzhania said he was sure that Lukashenko's visit would give a new impetus to "the relations between the peoples of the two countries." "We will definitely make it the same as in the good Soviet times. Welcome to Abkhazia," Bzhania addressed Lukashenko.
On the other hand, Alexander Lukashenko thanked Bzhania for her warm words. "Nostalgia never leaves us. I was in this holy land in the past, probably 25-27 years ago. Naturally, not as a president, one can say as an ordinary person, a member of parliament. Yesterday we discussed the problems of Abkhazia with our elder brother, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. We discussed these problems for a long time, until nightfall, and we concluded that Abkhazia could not be abandoned. We must help it so that this prosperous country, the people who live here, live normally," Lukashenko said.
According to him, the visit to Abkhazia is unrelated to any special situation. "We have a normal situation, and we are not worried about any geopolitics. We are simple, like you, peaceful, kind, hardworking people, and we want to live in harmony. Economic and trade ties should become the basis of our relations. There is no other way," added Lukashenko.
The Belarusian president took the initiative to discuss the issue of deepening future ties. "I am an experienced person; I have been in politics for many years. We will talk and think about how to live in the future. The most important thing is that people live here with dignity because this is heaven on earth, and the people here are saints. I still remember this from the Soviet period when I was here. That is why we want not only to build a bridge of friendship but also to sort out very serious relations," Lukashenko added, adding that Belarus and Russia agree on their actions.
"Russia is ready for support. Perhaps the time has come. Today, as we have never seen how the world has become, we will not be tempted to live peacefully, so we must strengthen our relations with our friends," Lukashenko said.
Bzhania also agreed that the world had entered a turbulent period. "We are carefully watching the developments in the world; every citizen of Abkhazia is worried about it. You probably know that our citizens are fighting in Donbas. Unfortunately, the citizens of Abkhazia died," said Bzhania.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia condemned the arrival of the authoritarian leader of Belarus in occupied Abkhazia. Ambassador of Belarus Anatoli Lis was summoned to the ministry as a sign of protest. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia expresses its deep concern regarding Aleksandr Lukashenko's travel to the Russian occupied Abkhazia region and the meeting held with the representatives of the Russian occupation regime in Sokhumi. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia condemns the violation of the Georgian state border by Aleksandr Lukashenko with his so-called visit to the occupied Abkhazia region, which blatantly infringes the fundamental principles and norms of international law. We call on the Belarusian side to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the sovereign state within its internationally recognized borders and not to take actions which contradict the fundamental principles of international law," – reads the statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia.
