Russia inks deal to establish permanent naval base on Black Sea coast of breakaway Georgian region

Russia has reached an agreement to establish a permanent naval base on the Black Sea coast within the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia, its leader was quoted on Thursday as saying by the Izvestiya newspaper. The development came a day after the leader’s meeting with President Vladimir Putin. The Russian Black Sea Fleet, currently stationed in Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Moscow from Ukraine in 2014, has faced multiple attacks by Ukrainian forces since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Aslan Bzhania, the self-styled president of Russian-backed Abkhazia, said an agreement had been signed for a permanent naval base in the Ochamchira region. “We have signed an agreement, and in the near future there will be a permanent base of the Russian Navy in the Ochamchira district,” Bzhania told Izvestiya. “This is all aimed at increasing the level of defence capability of both Russia and Abkhazia, and this kind of interaction will continue,” he said. “There are also things I can’t talk about.” When asked about the report, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said such issues were in the competence of the defence ministry and he made no further comment. The Russian-backed Abkhaz authorities did not respond to a request for comment. Russia recognized Abkhazia and another breakaway region, South Ossetia, as independent states in 2008 after Russian troops repelled a Georgian attempt to retake South Ossetia in a five-day war which ended on August 12, 2008. NATO CONCERN The West accused Russia of effectively annexing Abkhazia and South Ossetia and when talk surfaced in 2009 of a Russian base in Ochamchira, the NATO military alliance expressed concern. Three of the Black Sea littoral states are NATO members - Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania. Most of the world recognises Abkhazia as part of Georgia. Besides Russia, only Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru and Syria have recognised Abkhazia as independent. The news of the Russian base at Ochamchira, where the Soviet Union had a naval base, could indicate Russia is seeking alternatives to Sevastopol while also expanding its military presence down the Black Sea coast towards Turkey. The Wall Street Journal reported that Russia had withdrawn the bulk of its Black Sea Fleet from its main base in annexed Crimea due to Ukrainian attacks. Asked about the WSJ report, the Kremlin said this was also a question for the defence ministry and made no further comment. At his meeting with Bzhania on Wednesday, Putin made no comment about a naval base. But Bzhania did say that he wanted to participate in “the integration processes initiated by the Russian side”. With inputs from Reuters.