BREAKING: Abkhazian Opposition Clashes with Zurabishvili

It's been 13 years since Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili addressed the European Parliament, but on Wednesday, May 31, 2023, she gave a 39-minute speech. She asked the European Parliament to grant Georgia EU candidate status, underlining the urgency of her request with concern over Russian aggression. In particular, she discussed the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Further, she identified Abkhazia and Samachablo (South Ossetia) as beneficiaries of Georgia's ascension to EU candidate status.

In part, her speech focused on statements supporting the Abkhazian opposition, whom she said opposed Russians. However, the Abkhazian opposition soon published a statement categorically rejecting her comments about Russia. But, as with all things political in the greater Caucasus region, the truth is somewhere in the middle and looks different depending on which angle one views it from.

The critical takeaway is that the opposition party in Abkhazia is growing in strength and number. While there are no direct signals indicating immediate threats to the rule of Abkhazian President Aslan Bzhaniya, the security situation in the region is developing and should continue to be monitored. Any significant collapse of Russian power will diminish the influence of Bzhaniya in the area, which could cause existing tensions to escalate rapidly.