On May 24, participants in the Sokhumi-Moscow video bridge “Abkhazia and Russia in the context of new geopolitical realities” discussed the geopolitical situation in the world, the role of Russia in the international arena, and possible scenarios for the development of the future situation, including for Abkhazia. There was also talk about the realistic scenario of creating a confederation between Tbilisi and Sokhumi.

From the Moscow side, the video bridge was attended by the Professor of the Department of Economic Theory of the Financial University under the Government of Russia Marina Alpidovskaya, and the Dean of the Faculty of International Economic Relations of the same university, Pavel Seleznev. The latter noted in particular that Russia and Abkhazia are historically, culturally, and economically very closely connected:

"I think that the prospects, which I certainly assess as bright, lie in the focus of the revival of the Greater Eurasia project. This is our conceptual project, despite the attempts of our opponents to separate Armenians, Kazakhs, Uzbeks, and others into different corners. I recommend that the academic community and political circles of Abkhazia, which influence decision-making, ensure that relations with Russia are not built on individual representatives' short-term economic interests and benefits but on the understanding that Russia and Abkhazia have a common destiny. And we can only protect our existential space through joint efforts, implementing a large-scale project for greater Eurasia."

Speaking from Sokhumi, the head of the Abkhaz Center for Socio-Economic Research, Candidate of Philosophical Sciences Oleg Damenia, emphasized that the world situation is heating up. Under these conditions, Abkhazia cannot help but be interested in Russia continuing to develop in the same direction.

Secretary of the Security Council of the Republic of Abkhazia Sergei Shamba elaborated on the situation around Abkhazia. Here are a few excerpts from his speech:

"We see our future in a model that already exists between Russia and Belarus - in the Union State. We are ready to participate in this model of cooperation... The new picture of the world will depend on how the events in Ukraine end. It is already obvious to us that this will be a multipolar world... In connection with what is happening now in Georgia, many different expert assessments of the further development of events are being expressed. Experts conclude that Georgia is changing the vector of its foreign policy from West to East, that there are plans to establish some kind of confederal relations, and that in the future, Russia may refuse to recognize the independence of Abkhazia. Many experts have argued that the Russian Federation allegedly wants to create a confederation of Georgia and Abkhazia due to the situation in Georgia. There are such fabrications. Of course, we must consider different options for developing the situation, although we do not consider this state of affairs realistic. We still hope it will be a different format, a different integration, more of a union state [with Russia and Belarus]."

It is not very clear what Sergei Shamba meant when he spoke about "many experts" who had this opinion. In Abkhazia, only one journalist, the editor-in-chief of Chegemskaya Pravda, Inal Khashig, expressed concerns about this and was later supported to a certain extent by one of the opposition politicians.

Khashig himself responded to the words of the head of the Security Council in his Telegram channel as follows:

“I listened to Sergei Shamba’s speech during the Sokhumi-Moscow video bridge. He is so far the only Abkhaz official official who has spoken out about the confederal version. In the context of “everything is changing in the world,” I never heard a clear, unambiguous statement from Shamba: no confederation! And this is alarming."

The telegram channel “Abkhazia-Center” responded similarly to Sergei Shamba’s statement: “A strange and suspicious impression was left by the speech of the Secretary of the Security Council of Abkhazia Sergei Shamba during the Sokhumi-Moscow video bridge. There was no clear “no” to the possibility of a confederation with Georgia. It seems that the fate of Abkhazia is being decided not in Abkhazia, but outside its borders,” the author concluded.