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Georgia decries Russian foreign minister's visit to Abkhazia

"This is an attempt to encroach on Georgia's sovereignty," Georgian PM's special envoy for relations with Russia Zurab Abashidze said

TBILISI, April 18. /TASS/. Georgian Prime Minister's special envoy for relations with Russia, Zurab Abashidze has described the forthcoming visit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Abkhazia as an "encroachment on Georgia's sovereignty."
Deputy Foreign Minister David Jalaganiya told reporters on his part Lavrov's trip showed disregard for international principles and law.
"This is an attempt to encroach on Georgia's sovereignty," he stated.

In August 2008, Russia recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, formerly two regions of Georgia that had been seeking independence since the early 1990's.
Russia’s top envoy is expected to travel to Abkhazia on Tuesday. While in Sukhum, the capital of the fledgling South Caucasian nation, where he will attend a ceremony marking the opening a new Russian embassy compound, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a report on Monday.
"The minister will take part in a gala ceremony for the official opening of a new compound of the Russian embassy in Abkhazia," the report said.

Russian Ambassador to Abkhazia, Semyon Grigoryev told TASS the construction of the compound began in 2013. "On the basis of a government resolution, a land plot for building the embassy was allotted in October 2008.
From now on, the embassy and the consulate will be located on the same territory in downtown Sukhum, near the Glory Memorial.
Sergei Lavrov will spend two days in Abkhazia. On Wednesday, April 19, he will hold talks with Abkhazia’s President Raul Khajimba, Parliament Speaker Valery Kvarchiya and the republic’s top envoy, Daur Kove.
By recognizing Abkhazia’s independence from Georgia in 2008, Russia acted as a guarantor of the nation’s existence as an independent state and for a peaceful future for the Abkhazian people.
The two countries are persistently fostering their relationship on the basis of an allied strategic partnership.