Interview of S. Shamba, the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia to the federal Russian online news publication News.ru

— Sergey Mironovich, when was it more difficult to head the Ministry of Foreign Affairs — in the late 1990s and early 2000s or now?

-We have never had an easy time. The most difficult period was the war period, associated with human casualties and destruction. The formation of Abkhaz diplomacy coincided with the post-war period, when very active international contacts were conducted. The United Nations (UN), Russia, the USA, Great Britain, Germany, France, and leading humanitarian
organizations participated in the settlement of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict. Now is also a difficult time, because we live in an era of global changes.

In historically important periods, Abkhazia has always found itself in the maelstrom of events. This was the case in the 19-th century, when the Russian and Ottoman empires were sorting things out, and today. Now we are part of a new system that is being created thanks to the incredible struggle of the Russian Federation to rebuild the world order. We speak Russian, we have learned all the achievements of civilization through Russian culture. Therefore, we consider ourselves part of the Russian world. For this, our guys are fighting in the SVO zone - we have more than 50 dead. This is a lot for small Abkhazia.

— What are the priorities of Abkhazia’s foreign policy in this global whirlpool?

— We have clearly chosen the vector of our foreign policy — an alliance with the Russian Federation. There is an agreement that defines our relationship. In the event of war, each of its parties will side with its ally. And the most important foreign policy task of Abkhazia is to strengthen relations with Russia. This alliance allows us to solve all our problems, including those related to security, and ensure economic development. These are the main tasks of any state.

— In the autumn, a rather serious crisis emerged in Russian-Abkhaz relations. How did you manage to overcome it?

— This temporary period of crisis was caused by the events in Abkhazia, illegal and unconstitutional actions. But the situation was brought back into the legal framework. Now all the institutions of state power are working, early presidential elections are taking place, everything is going according to the law.

— Will the election results effect on cooperation with Russia?

— It is difficult to judge at this point. But Badra Gunba, the government candidate, former Vice President managed to restore our relations with the Russian Federation, which had been temporarily tested. Thanks to his efforts, we have returned to the previous policy of mutual respect and cooperation.

— The Babushara airport in Sukhum will soon open - the international airport of Sukhum named after V. Ardzinba. With which countries, besides Russia can air traffic begin?

— Initially, flights will be made between our two countries. But we hope that other destinations will open in the future. I would like to emphasize: an alliance with Russia solves all the problems of small Abkhazia. The Russian Federation is a whole huge world for us. Of course, we strive to achieve recognition from other countries, but this is more a matter of prestige than of any practical benefit.

— Are relations with Syria maintained, which has recognized Abkhazia's independence?

— Yes, we maintain contacts with our embassy, it operates as before, with the new authorities of the republic. There are no problems, the new leadership of Syria provides security for the department.

— Turkish speech is now heard more often in Abkhazia, many catering establishments have appeared. How are relations developing with Turkey? What has changed in recent years?

— In fact, not so much. We have a certain number of repatriates who returned from Turkey to their homeland, opened small restaurants. The majority of the Abkhaz people live in Turkey. This is precisely the result of the events of the 19th century that I have spoken about. We have contacts with Ankara, the State Committee for Repatriation is active. It is engaged in the return of Abkhazians to their historical homeland and strengthening of ties with our diaspora in Turkey and other countries whose territories were once part of the Ottoman Empire.

— The situation in Transcaucasia has changed in the last few years. Armenia and Georgia are reviewing their foreign policy. What risks or opportunities do these changes bring to Abkhazia?

— We are interested in normal relations between states being built in the region. Abkhazia will only welcome this. We would like to see developing of traditional ties between Russia and Armenia and peace and cooperation reign between us.

— In the fall, Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister said that Russia was ready to assist Georgia in normalizing of relations with Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Do you see the prospects of this process?

— We are in favor of peaceful relations with Georgia. Abkhazia proposed concluding of agreement on the non-use of force at the Geneva meetings, but so far the Georgian side has refused to sign such a document. Although in 1997, Yevgeny Primakov, the Russian Foreign Minister organized a meeting in Tbilisi between Vladislav Ardzinba, Abkhazian President and Eduard Shevardnadze, Georgian President. I was present at this event, where exactly such a document was signed. We are talking about resuming of this issue.

— On February 12, the co-chairs of the International Discussions on Security and Stability in the Transcaucasus visited Sukhum. What was the purpose of their visit?

— They always visit not only Abkhazia, but also South Ossetia and Russia. Positions are being coordinated before the next meeting, which will soon be held in Geneva. We once had an Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM), but then Georgia rejected the compromise options [for resolving disagreements] that we proposed. In any case, there is a hotline between the parties — when any questions arise, they can contact each other.

Recently, such a provocative action took place: A Georgian helicopter flew into our territory. The hotline started working, and the conflict was resolved. Tbilisi cited on unfavorable weather conditions. But we know that helicopters do not take off at all in bad weather.