On February 29, 2024, UNDP Program Manager in Abkhazia Vardon Khoja was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia to meet with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia Inal Ardzinba.

During the meeting, a detailed exchange of views took place regarding the activities of UNDP in the Republic of Abkhazia.

Inal Ardzinba, Foreign Minister drew the attention of the UNDP representative to the publication on the official website of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) of information indicating the goals and objectives of UNDP funding from this American structure, namely: “de-occupation of Abkhazia” and “countering the harmful influence of the Kremlin”. Inal Ardzinba noted that this kind of publication damages the reputation of UNDP as a UN division and contradicts the purposes of the UN Charter.

The head of the foreign policy department noted that the total amount of funding for all UNDP projects in Abkhazia is more than $20 million. Inal Ardzinba focused on specific facts of UNDP funding of Abkhaz information resources that are attempting to destabilize public opinion in the Republic of Abkhazia.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia expects from UNDP (no later than March 7, 18:00):

- refutation on the official UNDP website of the goals of the USAID-funded project (published on the official website of this American structure);
- publication of information indicating a list of Abkhaz information resources financed by UNDP, goals, objectives and volumes of their funding.
If a refutation is not published by UNDP, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia reserves the right to take timely and adequate response measures.