On March 3, 2024 a meeting was held between Ibrahim Avidzba, the Plenipotentiary Representative of the Republic of Abkhazia in the Turkish Republic and Andrey Buravov, the
Consul General of the Russian Federation at the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Istanbul.
The meeting was also attended by Dzhansukh Lazba, the Advisor on Political Affairs of the Plenipotentiary Representation of the Republic of Abkhazia in Turkey, and Anton Skvortsov, the Vice-Consul of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation.
The meeting took place in a traditionally friendly atmosphere. Issues of interdepartmental interaction in the social, humanitarian, economic and cultural spheres were discussed. Ibrahim Avidzba spoke about the events organized with the participation of the Istanbul Administration, which took place from February 29 to March 3, 2024 at the Festival Grounds in Istanbul.
Tamila Mirtskhulava, the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Abkhazia also took part in the events.
During the meeting, the importance of the participation of the Republic of Abkhazia in such
events to expand contacts in the socio-cultural sphere was noted.
Special attention was paid to the interaction of the Caucasian, Circassian and Abkhaz federations, as well as the public organizations that are part of them in Turkey.
Particular attention during the meeting was paid to concerns about the growth of attempts on the part of pro-Western NGOs, which negatively impact the work and activities of public organizations uniting representatives of the Caucasian ethnic group. In particular, attempts to introduce various projects into these organizations that do not correspond to the foreign policy course of Abkhazia and Russia.
Particular attention was paid to the development of interdepartmental cooperation on issues of suppressing the influence of NGOs on public organizations. The issue of passporting of Turkish citizens from among the ethnic Abkhaz-Adygs was discussed.The Plenipotentiary Representative of Abkhazia emphasized that the presence of an Abkhaz passport for representatives of the diaspora greatly facilitates their transit movement through
Russia to Abkhazia.
The parties discussed the issue of organizing events on May 21, dedicated to the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Caucasian War.
At the end of the meeting, Ibrahim Avidzba invited his Russian colleague Andrei Vyacheslavovich to visit the local Abkhazian village of Balbaly in Sakarya province.
Residents of the village from among the Abkhaz-Adygs took the initiative to organize an official reception for colleagues from the Consulate General in the format of a traditional Abkhaz feast with the participation of local folk ensembles.