Kvarchiya and Shamba explain Abkhazia's position of joining Russia

Unlike South Ossetia, Abkhazia has no plans to become part of Russia; and the issue of the republic's independence is clearly defined in its Constitution, Valery Kvarchiya, the Speaker of the Abkhaz Parliament, and Sergey Shamba, the Secretary of the Security Council, have noted.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 30, Anatoly Bibilov, the President of South Ossetia, announced, on the eve of the presidential election in the republic, that South Ossetia would soon take legal steps to join Russia.

Abkhazia has no political parties and politicians who would raise the issue of joining Russia, said Sergey Shamba, the Secretary of the republic's Security Council.

"We respect the choice of South Ossetia, but we have a completely different story. <...> And our Constitution does not allow this legislatively," the RIA "Novosti" quotes Mr Shamba as saying.

The Constitution of Abkhazia cannot be changed, including when it comes to the liquidation of the republic's independence, Valery Kvarchiya, the Speaker of the Abkhaz Parliament, has stressed.

"There is no issue of Abkhazia joining the Russian Federation. The Constitution of Abkhazia absolutely clearly proclaims our country as an independent state <...> Russia is our strategic partner, a dear and close state, but we have no intentions of joining the Russian Federation," the "Interfax" quotes Mr Kvarchiya as saying.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 31, 2022 at 08:00 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.