Step Again Russian ahold Georgia Regional

Step Again Russian ahold Georgia Regional

TEMPO.CO, Tbilisi - Georgian Foreign Minister said Russia another step in the de facto annexed the breakaway region of the country after Moscow signed an agreement with Abkhazia.

In the agreement signed by President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of Abkhazia, Raul Khadzhimba, Monday, November 24, 2014, stated that the Russian and Abkhaz forces would be in the region to form joint forces under the command of Russia.

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This step raises suspicions of Western countries against President Vladimir Putin who previously had annexed the Crimea, Ukraine, on the Black Sea peninsula in March 2014. "I believe that cooperation, unity, and the strategic partnership between Russia and Abkhazia will continue to strengthen," said Putin .

Russian troops are in Abkhazia for more than two decades since the region has a population of 240 thousand broke away from Georgia in a separatist war in the early 1990s.

Agreement signed by the two leaders on Monday, November 24, 2014, reflects that Moscow will further increase the presence of its troops after a change in leadership in the region.

Former leader of Abkhazia, Alexander Ankvab, previously forced to abdicate early 2014 under the pressure of protests led by the Kremlin reported. Khadzhimba, a former KGB intelligence officials of the Soviet Union, was elected president in polls in August 2014. However, the election results were rejected Georgia because it is considered illegal.

Unlike Ankvab who resisted pressure Moscow that Russia is allowed to buy assets in Abkhazia, Khadzhimba would prefer to listen to the wishes of Russia. "The agreement with Russia fully guarantee our security and socio-economic development," said Khadzhimba.

Russia-Georgia relationship heats up due to the war in August 2008 after the former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili tried to control back the breakaway region of South Ossetia. Furthermore, Russian forces repelled Georgian troops in the five-day war. Shortly thereafter, Moscow recognized the independence of two breakaway state of Georgia.