Andrei Starkov

Former Head of the Abkhazia and “South Ossetia” Division of the 4th CIS Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russian Federation.

Relations with Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region

• On October 19, 2015, the de facto Ambassador of Tskhinvali region to Russia, Znaur Gasiev, met with the Director of the 4th CIS Department, Aleksey Pavlovski, his Deputy, Mikhail Shurgalyn and Head of the Abkhazia and “South Ossetia” Division, Andrei Starkov.
• On November 12, 2015, the leaders of the 4th CIS Department visited de facto “Embassy” of Tskhinvali region to Moscow. The de facto Ambassador of Tskhinvali region, Znaur Gasiev, met with the Director of the 4th CIS Department, Aleksey Pavlovski, his Deputy, Mikhail Shurgalyn, Head of the Abkhazia and “South Ossetia” Division, Andrei Starkov and the Director’s Assistant, Polina Khoreva. Issues of bilateral relations were discussed during the meeting.
• In June 2018, news agency Russia Today organized a tow-day press tour for Abkhazian and Ossetian journalists in honor of the 10th anniversary of Russian recognition of independence of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region, during which meetings were held with the representatives of the Russian government. Journalists also met Starkov. In response to the question from one of the journalists, who was from North Ossetia, Starkov had to explain the differences between Crimea, which was “admitted to Russia after the referendum” and “South Ossetia” and Abkhazia, whose independence Russia recognized. According to Starkov’s assessment, the process of inclusion of Tskhinvali region and Abkhazia into the international community cannot be stopped. He said that by recognizing the independence of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region, Russia took an obligation to not only ensure their security, but also their formation as modern democratic and social-economically developed states. According to Starkov’s opinion, the priority areas of relations between Russia and Tskhinvali region are the fields of infrastructure, economy and social development.