Russia Strengthens Grip On Abkhazia With New Pact

In-Depth Coverage

November 24, 2014

Russia and Georgia's breakaway Abkhazia region have signed a treaty that Tbilisi has
condemned as a step toward Russian annexation of the Black Sea province.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Abkhazia's de facto president, Raul Khajimba,
signed the 'Allied Relations and Strategic Partnership' treaty on November 24 in Russia's
Black Sea resort of Sochi.
The treaty says that an armed attack on Abkhazia will be considered an armed attack on
Russia, and vice-versa.
It calls for the creation of a joint Russian-Abkhaz military force within a year, and for
Russian funding for the modernization of Abkhazia's military.
It also obliges Russia to press for more global recognition of Abkhazia's independence
claim.
Khajimba has said the pact was based on 'equal relations between two sovereign states,'
but critics within Abkhazia say its leaders are ceding too much control to Moscow.
Putin also said Moscow would double its financial assistance to Abkhazia.
Khajimba said the extra money would allow his region to move beyond its current focus of
ensuring security and implementing social projects to raising the economic potential of
Abkhazia.
Abkhazia has been enjoying de facto independence from Georgia since August 2008,
when Russia recognized Abkhazia and another Georgian breakaway territory, South
Ossetia, as independent states.
Only a few countries have followed Russia's lead in recognizing the independence of the
two breakaway Georgian regions.
Besides providing financial support for Abkhazia, Russia has also stationed some 4,000
troops there.
In Georgia, Nino Burjanadze, the leader of the opposition Democratic Movement and
former parliamentary speaker, blamed the current Georgian government for failing to take
action to prevent the November 24 signing of the Russian-Abkhaz agreement.
Burjanadze said Georgia's government 'has no policy' for Abkhazia.
The head of the European Union monitoring mission in Georgia, Toivo Klaar, said the 'socalled agreement' between Russia and Abkhazia would not change the EU's position 'on
the sanctity of Georgia's territorial integrity.'

26 November 2014 Last updated at 07:39 GMT

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A group of seven Yemenis who were taken hostage by a group linked
to al-Qaeda have been freed by Yemeni special forces, officials say.
Earlier reports that an eighth hostage - an American serviceman - was also
rescued have been denied by the US.
Seven kidnappers are reported to have been killed in the overnight
operation.
Scores of people have been kidnapped in Yemen in recent years, by
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A Yemeni government source had told Reuters news agency a US military
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