Separatist Abkhazia hopes to receive free energy from Moscow once more

Aslan Bzhania, the de-facto Abkhaz leader, claimed Sukhumi has requested Russian assistance because water levels at the Enguri Hydropower Plant are likely to plummet to dangerously low levels in the coming days.

"We've been talking with the Russian side for a few months now. It used to be easy to address such difficulties, but today it's more difficult," a Kremlin-backed politician told Abkhaz legislators.

Despite efforts to prevent crypto-currency mining, Bzhania said that Abkhazia received 1 billion kWh of free energy from Moscow last year, with a considerable portion of the energy being spent illegally, mostly by crypto farms.

"We paid nothing for a billion kWh since we don't have any." The Inter RAO firm has been burdened as a result, the Abkhaz leader continued, adding that the Russian energy corporation is unwilling to "incur opaque charges." "The Russian leadership supports us," Bzhania remarked, "and I hope this will happen again this time."

The Russian-occupied territory, which relies entirely on power supplied by the Enguri HPP, has been suffering an energy crisis in recent years due to rising demand. Due to a lack of energy, Sukhumi began rolling power disruptions in November 2020, which persisted until April 2021.

Because the 271.5-meter-tall concrete HPP arch dam is located on Georgian-controlled territory, while its five generators are on the Abkhaz side in Gali district, according to a long-standing, informal agreement between Tbilisi and Sukhumi, 40% of the electricity generated by the Enguri HPP goes to Abkhazia and the remaining 60 to the rest of Georgia.

Earlier, in the open missive to de-facto Abkhaz leader, dated December 2, the People’s Patriotic Union of Abkhazia warned Bzhania that similar statements “that contradict current legislation and international agreements pose a direct threat to the social and political stability and statehood” of Abkhazia.

Aslan Bzhania's appealed for sharing sovereignty with Russia, according to the People's Patriotic Union of Abkhazia, which amounts to abandoning national interests, which is against the occupied region's 'constitution' and laws.

"We will have to relinquish a bit of our sovereignty," Bzhania allegedly declared at a recent meeting with the intelligentsia. “And I don't think that's a tragedy; we effectively shared it with foreign policy difficulties, the ruble zoning, and so on. Something has already been done in terms of defence and security, but more must be done. I only see a good side to this since maintaining modern armed forces is a costly and unaffordable event for us."

Russia provides electricity to separatist Abkhazia

According to Chernomorenergo, the corporation in charge of power distribution in the area, Abkhazia got electricity from Russia in two flows to offset the gap during the winter season. On December 18 and 21, Russia sent energy to Abkhazia as a kind of help, according to the firm. The amount of power received was not disclosed. Separatist Abkhazia has now cancelled the rolling outages program, except for limitations related to electrical network overload, according to the same article.

The region will be totally powered by Russian energy, except for the Shesheleti 1 and Shesheleti 2 overhead lines, which will continue to be powered by the Enguri and Vardnili HPPs, according to Chernomorenergo.

Aslan Bzhania, the Kremlin-backed Abkhaz leader, claimed that Sukhumi had asked Moscow's assistance in filling the electrical shortfall because the Enguri Hydropower Plant was likely to hit critically low levels, causing a major electricity shortage in the occupied territory.

Because the Enguri HPP had to go offline for nearly three months for rehabilitation work last year, Abkhazia resorted to obtaining 1 billion kWh of free electricity from Moscow.

The Russian-occupied territory, which normally relies entirely on power supplied by the Enguri HPP, has been facing an energy shortage in recent years owing to rising demand, including  from bitcoin mining.

Because the 271.5-meter-tall concrete HPP arch dam is located on Georgian-controlled territory, while its five generators are on the Abkhaz side in Gali district, according to a long-standing, informal agreement between Tbilisi and Sokhumi, 40% of the electricity generated by the Enguri HPP goes to Abkhazia and the remaining 60% to the rest of Georgia.

According to Lavrov, Russian properties not entirely legitimately handled in separatist Abkhazia

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that “not entirely legitimate processes” are taking place regarding the property of Russian citizens in Georgian breakaway Abkhazia. Lavrov’s remarks at press conference came a day after his meeting with recently appointed Abkhaz “foreign minister” Inal Ardzinba in Sochi.

The top Russian diplomat also spoke of cases of Russian tourists experiencing “unpleasant situations,” as well as Russian entrepreneurs facing unresolved issues in the occupied region.

“The Abkhaz colleagues understand the need to step up their actions in all these areas,” Lavrov asserted, adding “this applies to criminal manifestations against our tourists and the property of Russian citizens” in Abkhazia. According to Lavrov, Ardzinba assured the Russian side that Abkhaz leadership “will do everything so that all these issues are closed.”

The Russian FM further recalled the case of a Russian entrepreneur “hanging since 2016,” whose business faced raider seizure. “Our repeated appeals to the relevant authorities of Abkhazia have yielded results. The other day, a court session took place, which made a positive decision on compensation.” Lavrov said he “emphasised it to our Abkhaz friends that the attractiveness of the Abkhaz market for Russian investments directly depends on how these kinds of things are considered and regulated.”

De-facto leader of the Abkhaz opposition slams Russian MP for interfering in internal affairs

One of the opposition leaders in occupied Abkhazia, Adgur Ardzinba, retaliated against Russian MP Oleg Kolesnikov for calling the opposition gathering and subsequent disturbances in Sukhumi a coup attempt on December 21.

In an interview with an Abkhaz TV network, Kolesnikov, a member of the governing United Russia party, also asserted that the chaotic events in Sukhumi were "wrong" and "undemocratic."

Political events in Abkhazia, according to the Russian MP, can have an influence on Moscow's ties with Sukhumi, as well as Russian visitors' decisions to visit the region. The member went on to say that Abkhazia's economic growth "need strong authority."

Ardzinba, a de-facto leader of the opposition People's Patriotic Union of Abkhazia, which includes his own Abkhaz People's Movement, declared that MP Kolesnikov should not analyse the events of December 21. "For that, we have law enforcement authorities," Ardzinba remarked.

In Sukhumi, the opposition leader stated that he intends to address Russia's State Duma, the Abkhaz 'foreign ministry,' and Russian ambassadors to investigate the lawmaker's remarks. Ardzinba pointed out that the Russian legislator made his statements to the media from the Abkhaz ‘presidential administration’ while on a trip to Sukhumi.

If MP Kolesnikov was visiting Sukhumi for personal or commercial reasons, the Abkhaz opposition leader asked that he refrain from interfering in the region's "internal matters."

Ardzinba criticised current Abkhaz leadership for not comprehending "the fundamental concept of sovereignty" and having "no clue how to manage an independent state" during his speech at the rally on December 21.

Meanwhile, at a briefing on December 24, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated that Moscow is committed to "principles of equality, mutual respect, and non-interference in domestic affairs." She did say, though, that the Russian government is "closely monitoring" the situation in Abkhazia.