The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia sent a note of condolences to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia on the occasion of the anniversary of the devastating earthquake that occurred on December 7, 1988.

It is said:

"The world was shocked by the news of a terrible tragedy when as a result of a devastating earthquake the ruthless element claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people on December 7, 1988. The republics of the Soviet Union immediately responded to the disaster and sent the necessary assistance to the site of the tragedy. A terrible catastrophe became a common grief for all the peoples of the USSR.

Abkhazia fully shared the pain of Armenians who lost their loved ones in those hard days.

Fate did not stint on the hardest trials for the Armenian people in the centuries-old history of which there are many tragic pages. And today, 33 years after the earthquake, this is a special day for Armenians all over the world. This is the day of sadness and mourning, grief and sorrowful memories.

We bow our heads in respect before the memory of the victims of the natural disaster and mourn for the recently-deceased.”