On March 13, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the de facto Republic of Abkhazia, Inal Ardzinba, met with Dmitry Fedotov, the Head of the representation office of the Federal Agency for CIS States, Compatriots Living Abroad and International Humanitarian Affairs (“Russian House”) in Abkhazia.

The meeting discussed the issue of admitting Abkhaz entrants to Russian universities in 2024. According to Ardzinba, Abkhaz applicants are very interested in studying in Russian educational institutions, where the children of ethnic Abkhaz fighters who died in the Russian military aggression in Ukraine also want to study. Ardzinba asked Fedotov to support the entrants.

Also, in 2024, it is planned to hold a youth festival “Republic of Abkhazia-Russian Federation-Republic of Belarus” which was also a topic of discussion at the meeting.

Ardzinba noted that members of the “Future of Abkhazia” youth social platform support Vladimir Putin in the current Russian presidential elections. According to him, young people are also running an information campaign – “Abkhazia for Putin.”

Fedotov expressed gratitude to Ardzinba for the support of the youth and expressed his willingness to cooperate on issues voiced by the de facto Minister.