A new standoff is maturing around the long-standing issue of privatization of real estate in Georgia’s secessionist region of Abkhazia. On November 8, the “president” of Abkhazia, Aslan Bzhania, stated at an official meeting in the city of Tkvarcheli that citizens of Russia should have the opportunity and right to acquire real estate in Abkhazia. Bzhania clarified that obtaining property in Abkhazia by Russian citizens would have only economic implications, without granting the proprietors any political rights or Abkhazian citizenship. He further explained that Abkhazia critically needs foreign specialists and investors for whom local manufacturers could work. Bzhania, however, did not present any figures illustrating to what extent this step will improve the social-economic situation in the ailing region.
Abkhazia’s ‘President’ Floats Idea to Lift Real Estate Purchase Restrictions for Russian Citizens (Zaal Anjaparidze, The Jamestown Foundation)
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