SUKHUMI, March 9. /TASS/. The Republic of Abkhazia established diplomatic relations with Donetsk People’s Republic Wednesday, Abkhazian Foreign Ministry press office said.

"On March 9, 2022, the Republic of Abkhazia and Donetsk People’s Republic established diplomatic relations via exchange of diplomatic notes," the Ministry said.

According to the Ministry, "a draft bilateral treaty on friendship and cooperation is being prepared, which will become the foundation for further creation of legal and treaty corpus between the Republic of Abkhazia and Donetsk People’s Republic."

"The Republic of Abkhazia and Donetsk People’s Republic support the Russian Federatoin’s course towards demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine. The Republic of Abkhazia and Donetsk People’s Republic support efforts to strengthen friendship and cooperation between the two peoples, they seek to facilitate the building of peaceful and equal relations and are being led by the desire to develop cooperation in the interests of both peoples based on mutual respect of independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity and other universally recognized principles and norms of international law - above all, the UN Charter," the Abkhazian Foreign Ministry said in its statement.

Previously, the media reported that President of Abkhazia Aslan Bzhania signed an order on recognition of independence of Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics.