August 26 marks the 17th anniversary of the recognition of the state independence and sovereignty of the Republic of Abkhazia by the Russian Federation. The historic Decree No. 1261 was signed by the President of Russia D.A. Medvedev on August 26, 2008.

Recent statements by Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze that Western officials have been pressuring the Georgian government to open a "second front" against Russia, which in fact means new aggression against Abkhazia and South Ossetia, confirming the facts of blackmail and threats from Western countries, are fully consistent with the practice of pressure on sovereign states known to us.

On August 19, 2025, a meeting of the Security Council members was held at the UN headquarters dedicated to the events of 2008. Following the meeting, some representatives of Western countries issued a joint statement in support of Georgia's territorial integrity and condemned the presence of Russian military bases in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. It should be noted that such joint statements by Western representatives in support of Georgia have become traditional and have nothing to do with objective reality.

Official commentary by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia, head of the Abkhazian delegation to the International Discussions on Stability and Security in Transcaucasia, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Odissei Bigvava on the statement by the Prime Minister of Georgia Iraklii Kobakhidze.

I assess the results of the visit as very fruitful and useful. A very interested and engaging dialogue took place with my colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov, during which we discussed a large array of interstate relations that required discussion today, issues that are extremely important for the citizens of our country, a wide range of interstate cooperation, interdepartmental interaction.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia informs the citizens of the Republic of Abkhazia that an interstate agreement with the Russian Federation on the settlement of dual citizenship issues enters into force today.

Interview of Acting Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia Iraklii Tuzhba to the «Republic of Abkhazia» newspaper

In response to the interview with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, in which issues of restoring Georgia's territorial integrity are discussed, we would like to emphasize that the statements of the Georgian leadership demonstrate the unwillingness to move away from old approaches that have long ceased to correspond to the current realities.

Against the backdrop of recent statements by Georgian politicians about their readiness for constructive dialogue with the Republic of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, including the statement by the Chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili, who stated that "Georgia will have to apologize to the Ossetian side for 2008 and punish the former ruling party", the Republic of Abkhazia expected the rise of pragmatic interaction based on the recognition of the realities that have developed in Transcaucasia.

Media reported restrictions on crossing the Abkhazian-Russian state border by citizens of the Republic of Abkhazia who also hold Russian citizenship. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports that consultations are underway with relevant Russian agencies. At the moment, there are no changes in the regime for crossing the Abkhazian-Russian state border.