Georgian foreign ministry: Russia integrates Abkhazia and South Ossetia

The Georgian foreign ministry condemned the opening of customs points in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, ignoring the position of the republics and placing responsibility for this on Russia. The Georgian foreign ministry regards these actions as "an illegal step towards the actual annexation of these regions by the Russian Federation."

Russia intends to "integrate Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region (South Ossetia) into Russia’s single customs territory," the statement of the Georgian foreign ministry said.

Tbilisi called on Moscow to "stop provocative actions aimed at annexing the territory of a sovereign state."

EADaily reported earlier that the customs point on the border of South Ossetia with Georgia was opened in early January at the Razdakhan border checkpoint in the Leningori district of the republic. Establishment of the Razdakhan customs point was approved at a meeting of the government of South Ossetia in December 2017. Also, the government of South Ossetia is considering lifting the restriction according to which residents of the Leningori region are not allowed importing from Georgia more than 50 kg of cargo per person.

Last year, it also became known that a new specialized customs point, subordinate to the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation, would appear in the territory of Abkhazia. The Abkhazian customs point will be located in the city of Sukhum.

The Ingur checkpoint is established at the border crossing between Abkhazia and Georgia. The roadway has been repaired here and a bus line launched increasing the traffic capacity of the checkpoint.