Russia suspends financing of some payments to Abkhazia over failure to meet obligations - Abkhaz FM
SUKHUM. Sept 3 (Interfax) - Russia has begun resorting to some sanctions with regard to Abkhazia after having warned it on numerous occasions that it could do so over Sukhum's failure to meet its obligations, Abkhaz Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba said.
"The message was that our failure to meet obligations that we've undertaken might entail certain sanctions," Shamba said at a press briefing in Sukhum on Tuesday.
"Since September 1, [Russia] has suspended the financing of some payments. This concerns the co-financing of salaries of doctors, teachers, law enforcement officials, and so on. These are obviously just first steps. Apart from this, the question has been brought up that, from now on, power flows which we experience every winter will have to be paid for at commercial rates," Shamba said.
As an ally, Russia has been increasingly discontented with Abkhazia, Shamba said.
"This is not something that was there at the start. I remember the Russian public's attitudes towards us when Abkhazia's independence was recognized. There's none of this now. All of us must have made some efforts for this to happen," he said.
"Where will this situation lead us, how can we overcome it, and how will the situation in Abkhazia develop if this confrontation persists? I think these are questions that our society should be concerned about above all," Shamba said.
He called for certain efforts to be made to improve relations with Russia.
"Let's try to somehow correct the situation together. There's so much negative content on social networks regarding relations between Russia and Abkhazia. Therefore, let's try to do something together to improve our relations with our strategic ally. This is in our common best interest," Shamba said.
Abkhaz President Aslan Bzhania is currently in Moscow, where he intends to have a number of meetings to discuss ways to overcome the situation, he said.
"If the sanctions remain in place until the end of the year, many will suffer. We'll see how to handle this situation," Shamba said.