Putin: Russia Will Continue to Assist Abkhazia in Ensuring National Security

"Russia will keep providing assistance to Abkhazia in ensuring its security and meeting its social and economic goals," Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a message to his Abkhazian counterpart Raul Khajimba on the occasion of the "Victory and Independence Day" celebrated on Monday.

"President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin sent a congratulatory telegram to President of the Republic of Abkhazia Raul Khajimba on the occasion of the National Victory and Independence Day. Putin reaffirmed that Russia will continue to assist Abkhazia in ensuring national security, as well as in addressing current socio-economic development issues,” reads the Kremlin website.

The "Independence Day," also known among locals as Liberation Day, is the state holiday in the currently Russian-occupied Georgian region of Abkhazia.  It celebrates the end of the war in Abkhazia (1992–1993) and its declaration of independence.

September 30 was chosen as the "Independence Day" to commemorate the date on which the Georgian government troops and ethnic Georgians were driven out by the Abkhaz secessionist forces and their allies from much of Abkhazia, including the capital, Sokhumi, in a series of fierce battles during the war in Abkhazia in 1993.

Related Story: 26 Years Since Fall of Sokhumi

By Ana Dumbadze