Russia has conducted its first railway trip and its second air connection to the newly restored Sokhumi Airport in occupied Abkhazia – while Ivanishvili’s regime remained silent as early as 2023 regarding the illegal transfer of Sokhumi Airport to Russia, adopting Russian laws and preparing the ground for Georgia’s isolation from the West.

Teona Akubardia, a member of the "For Georgia" party, made this statement in response to Russia’s first railway operation in occupied Abkhazia.

She assessed this development as a direct violation of Georgia’s sovereignty and called on Western partners to react accordingly.

"Russia has conducted its first railway trip and its second air connection to the newly restored Sokhumi Airport in occupied Abkhazia. While Ivanishvili’s regime continues its attacks on the West—even from the disaster zone in western Georgia, whether against the EU ambassador or the UK—it remains silent in the face of yet another alarming violation of Georgia’s sovereignty: the arrival of the first train from Sochi to occupied Sokhumi and the second direct air connection from Russia.

The regime’s Foreign Ministry was also silent when Sergey Kiriyenko, First Deputy Chief of Staff of Russia’s Presidential Administration, visited Sokhumi and ‘coordinated the launch of a regular high-speed train between Russian Sirius and Abkhazia’s Sokhumi.’

Now, according to media reports, regular air travel between Russia and occupied Sokhumi’s renovated airport is set to begin on May 1.

While Ivanishvili’s regime remained silent in 2023 regarding the illegal handover of Sokhumi Airport to Russia, it was simultaneously adopting Russian laws and laying the groundwork for Georgia’s isolation from the West. Now, amid this isolation, we are witnessing an intensified Russian offensive against Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, with Ivanishvili’s collaboration with the enemy through silent acquiescence against his own country.

As Georgia’s Foreign Ministry remains silent, we urge our Western partners to respond to these acts of Russian aggression against Georgia’s sovereignty," stated Teona Akubardia.