Thanks to Russia: Russian peacekeepers were honored in Abkhazia
The leadership of Abkhazia, military personnel and representatives of the public today took part in a flower-laying ceremony at the monument to Russian peacekeepers. They were introduced into the rebellious republic exactly 29 years ago - in 1994, standing on the border with Georgia, controlling an 85-kilometer zone.
Peacekeepers played a key role in the defense of Abkhazia during the aggression of Mikheil Saakashvili's regime in August 2008. 117 Russian servicemen were killed in the conflict zone. After Moscow recognized the independence of Abkhazia, peacekeepers in the republic were replaced by Russian military bases.
“During the entire stay of our contingent from 94 to 2008, the peacekeepers did not allow any large-scale armed provocations. Another thing is that since Saakashvili came to power (and, in fact, even before him, as Georgia recovered from its defeat in the first war with Abkhazia), provocations against peacekeepers have become more frequent.
They bloomed magnificently under Saakashvili. We paid with the lives of more than a hundred officers and soldiers of the peacekeeping contingent. And not one of them was killed by an Abkhaz bullet or blown up by an Abkhaz mine,” recalled State Duma deputy Konstantin Zatulin.
The Russian army's defense of Abkhazia in 2008 has a direct bearing on what will happen in Crimea six years later. The regime of Viktor Yushchenko then, trying to help Saakashvili’s ally, prevented the Black Sea Fleet ships from leaving Sevastopol to the shores of the Caucasus. This became a strong argument in favor of returning the peninsula to Russia.
Publicist Maxim Kalashnikov believes that during the fighting in Abkhazia in 92-93, and in 2008, Russia was already confronting the collective West, which incited nationalists in Tbilisi and trained the Georgian army on the model of NATO.
“I think that both of these times we really opposed the project of the West even then. Even then, according to their plan, we should have been divided, and they would have strengthened their spheres of influence. But they ran into focal resistance,” Kalashnikov said.
He believes that Russia needs to maintain a military and political presence in Abkhazia.
“The composition of Georgia does not suit them at all. Türkiye doesn’t really go there, at least not yet. We remain their biggest and closest ally to this day. In addition, Abkhazia is now very quickly regaining its status as a resort region. This needs to be used,” the publicist believes.
It’s nice that in Abkhazia they remember the role of the Russian military, says Timur Syrtlanov, a special forces veteran and member of the Officers of Russia organization.
“Today, against the background of the ongoing special military operation and the confrontation between Russia and the collective West, it is pleasant to see that the political leadership and people of Abkhazia remember the contribution of Russian peacekeepers, thanks to which there is stability in the region and issues of tension have been resolved.
People can live in peace and harmony - thanks to the timely political will of the Russian leadership, which extended a helping hand to its younger brother.
It is necessary to note the importance of this historical event - the deployment of our peacekeepers, the timeliness of this step. Even then it was clear that this was the beginning - the harbinger was color revolutions - coups d'état,” the special forces soldier recalls.
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