A rally was held in Abkhazia against the transfer of the state dacha to Russia in Pitsunda
About a hundred people rallied tonight in Sukhum against the transfer of the state dacha in Pitsunda to Russia. The complex of buildings built in 1958-1961 occupies 180 hectares and is in need of restoration. Nationalist-minded citizens had previously protested against the transfer of a plot of land to Moscow (this is prohibited by the laws of Abkhazia, which, by the way, is one of the obstacles for Russian business to enter here), although the authorities assured that we were talking only about buildings, and the land would remain Abkhazian.
Last night, deputies of the Abkhazian parliament ratified the agreement in three readings at once at an extraordinary meeting. President of the Republic Aslan Bzhania has already signed the ratification law.
“This agreement does not provide for the transfer to the Russian Federation of the land on which the facility is located. The territory is leased for 49 years. Only buildings are transferred into ownership, the maintenance and repair of which will be carried out by the Russian FSO,” explained Russian Ambassador to Abkhazia Mikhail Shurgalin.
Opposition protesters are concerned that the agreement does not specify state dacha facilities, and deputies may not take into account the interests and rights of citizens living in residential buildings located on land plots transferred to the Russian Federation. These are 40-apartment, 16-apartment and 2-apartment residential buildings located on Lidzavskoye Highway in Pitsunda.
“We are not opposed to the transfer of the state dacha to Russia, but there are clauses in the text of the agreement that outrage the public. It is possible to create a conciliation commission, develop a common position on the document and calmly carry out the ratification procedure after the New Year,” said the chairman of the opposition Abkhaz People’s Movement Adgur Ardzinba.
President of Abkhazia Aslan Bzhania previously stated that Vladimir Putin personally asked him to resolve the issue with the state dacha in 2020.
“Dear Aslan Georgievich, we have repeatedly appealed to the leadership of Abkhazia to ensure that the property complex - buildings and structures - be transferred to our ownership. We are going to carry out major renovations so that this facility functions as a full-fledged residence of the President of the Russian Federation,” Bzhaniya recently recounted Putin’s words.
The agreement on Pitsunda will obviously affect the desire of the Russian side to invest in such large-scale projects on the territory of the republic as the construction of an airport, tourist facilities, reconstruction of the Abkhaz railway, the Russian Embassy made it clear earlier.
Let us recall that, unlike South Ossetia, in Abkhazia there are less widespread sentiments in favor of the republic joining the Russian Federation. Now this formally independent state, recognized by Moscow, lives largely thanks to Russian economic and military assistance, and the majority of the population has Russian passports.
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