“A lot of discontent has accumulated.” Abkhazia said Russia has suspended social payments to local doctors and teachers

Russia has suspended social payments to doctors and teachers in Abkhazia. This was reported by the head of the Abkhazian Foreign Ministry, Sergei Shamba.

According to him, the Russian state has thus begun to impose sanctions in connection with Abkhazia’s failure to fulfill certain obligations. “The discussion was that our failure to fulfill obligations could entail certain sanctions, which have already begun to be implemented since September 1. Social financing will be stopped, which concerns doctors, teachers, security forces and others,” the diplomat said.

He placed responsibility for the situation on the republic’s authorities and called for a re-establishment of relations with Russia. “It is obvious that a lot of discontent has accumulated among our allies recently. Relations have changed significantly. This is not what it was at the beginning,” Shamba noted.

He also cited the example of the period when “there was recognition of Abkhazia and what attitude there was in Russian society.” Today, none of this exists, the diplomat said. “We all tried to make this happen. Let’s all try to somehow fix the situation together,” the head of the MFA added.

Shamba called on the Abkhaz authorities to improve relations with Russia

Last week, a number of Telegram channels reported on talks that allegedly took place in Moscow with the participation of Abkhazian President Aslan Bzhania and Deputy Head of the Russian Presidential Administration Dmitry Kozak. According to sources, following the meeting, a decision was allegedly made to cancel funding for programs in Abkhazia until the country ratifies agreements on mutual recognition of court decisions, the adoption of a law on apartments, and benefits for foreign investors.

Sergei Shamba denied the authenticity of the data that appeared online and stated that Abkhazia had not officially received any documents. “We have not received anything through our channels. We cannot determine that a document that has not arrived officially is genuine,” the diplomat said.

However, he commented on some points from the published fake documents. In particular, speaking about the possibility of depriving some deputies and representatives of opposition political forces of Abkhazia of Russian citizenship, Shamba noted that this issue is the prerogative of the Russian side.

At the same time, he emphasized, the public should not be concerned about the possible deprivation of citizenship, but about the sanctions that may follow from Russia after the suspension of payments. “This is what we should talk about and worry about. Where will this situation lead us, how to get out of it, and what situation will develop in Abkhazia if such confrontation continues? I think that our society should be concerned about these issues first and foremost,” the head of the MFA said.