As a result of the armed aggression of Georgia in 2008, the Georgian authorities began to actively use the thesis of "occupied territories" in all international forums and in the international media space. According to the thesis the Republic of Abkhazia and the Republic of South Ossetia were declared territories allegedly occupied by the Russian Federation.

With the direct support of the United States and other Western countries, unfounded accusations of "occupation" are still voiced in the international arena. Today, the concept of "occupied territories" is the main instrument of Georgia's international policy. In Georgia, the law "on occupied territories" continues to operate, which restricts any contacts with the Republic of Abkhazia.

In this regard, we would like to recall that the legal regime of occupation is determined by international documents such as: "Convention on respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land", "Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War", "Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict» and a number of other normative legal acts that have international status. In accordance with the current norms of international law, military occupation is understood as the temporary occupation by the troops of one country of the territory of another in the conditions of war between them and the administration of the occupied territory by the occupying state.

The classic example of occupation is the 2003 military invasion of Iraq by the United States and its allies, which took place without UN Security Council sanction. As a result of the occupation, the Coalition Provisional Authority of Iraq was created, which was under the full control of the US authorities. Such examples can serve as a vivid illustration of the policy pursued by the United States and its allies and entirely fall under the internationally recognized criteria of occupation. 

As for the Georgian concept of the so-called occupied territories, it does not correspond to reality and is politically motivated.

Situation in the Republic of Abkhazia is not in compliance with any internationally-recognized criteria of occupation. The Republic of Abkhazia is an independent state in which legally elected bodies of state power exercise effective management and control without any outside interference.

Relations between the Republic of Abkhazia and the Russian Federation are secured by a wide range of interstate treaties and agreements. These relations are of a strategic nature and comply with all applicable norms of international law.