SUKHUM, February 21. /TASS/. Abkhazian President Aslan Bzhania thinks that the presence of NATO ships in the Black Sea leads to escalated tensions and complicates Ukraine’s fate.
"The presence of NATO ships in the Black Sea does not bode well, this escalates tensions, this complicates Ukraine’s fate <…> They have no business being there and the sooner the ships leave, the sooner peace will be established in this region," the Abkhazian president said in an interview with TASS.
According to Bzhania, in general, Ukraine’s territory and people became a bargaining chip for third countries to achieve their political goals aiming to weaken Russia. "Absolutely everyone understands this by now, but, apparently, the Ukrainian leadership cannot 'roll back' anymore," he said.
Bzhania thinks that "the people of Abkhazia see and understand this." "We value our peace as the main treasure and in this sense our vision is aligned with the vision of the Russian people and their leaders," he stressed.
The Abkhazian president said that about 70-80 people from the republic are participating in the special military operation in Ukraine as volunteers. "There is certain rotation, but, according to those who are there, guys from Abkhazia display both stamina and courage, fighting with valor," he said, noting that 20 Abkhazian volunteers had been killed in action.
Speaking of relations with Donbass and new Russian regions, Bzhania said that he maintains personal contact with regional leaders. "Our guys, who are fighting there, contribute as much as they can to ensuring security on these territories. We also maintain interaction on providing humanitarian support, we have been receiving children from these regions for 2-3 years, trying to surround them with care and love. We will continue this work in the future because the Abkhazian people know very well what it means to be in trouble," the president concluded.