On December 1, 2022, the Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Vyacheslav Volodin, paid an official visit to the occupied Abkhazia. The official purpose of Volodin's visit was to sign a cooperation agreement between the Russian State Duma and the de facto parliament of Abkhazia.

After the 2008 Russian-Georgian war, this is the first time when the chairman of the State Duma visits the occupied region of Georgia. Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Medvedev and Sergey Lavrov visited Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region at different times.

Volodin arrived in the Sokhumi airport by helicopter. The airport was under the special protection of the Special Forces of the de facto republic of Abkhazia. At the airport, the guest was met by the speaker of the de facto parliament of Abkhazia, Lasha Ashuba. Volodin was accompanied by: the Deputy Speaker of the State Duma, Sergey Neverov, the Chairman of the Committee for CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots of the State Duma, Leonid Kalashnikov and his first deputy - Konstantin Zatulin, the Chairman of the Defense Committee, Andrei Kartapalov, the Chairman of the Committee on Tourism and Tourism Infrastructure Development, Sangaji Tarbaev, and the First Deputy Chairperson of the International Affairs Committee, Svetlana Zhurova.

Meeting with the De Facto President

Within the framework of the visit, Volodin met with the de facto President of Abkhazia, Aslan Bzhania. At the meeting, Volodin emphasized the importance of alliance and strategic relations between the two “countries.” According to him, “new formats of cooperation within the parliamentary space should be used to resolve issues in the interests of citizens, to develop relations between countries.”

From the Russian side, the following participated in the meeting: Sergey Neverov, Leonid Kalashnikov and the Russian “Ambassador” to Abkhazia, Mikhail Shurgalin; from the Abkhaz side: the de facto Prime Minister, Alexander Ankvab, the de facto Parliament Speaker, Lasha Ashuba, the de facto Head of the Presidential Administration, Jansug Nanba.

Meeting with the Chairman of the De Facto Parliament

After the meeting with Bzhania, Volodin met with the Speaker of the de facto parliament, Lasha Ashuba. The meeting discussed the development of “parliamentary” dialogue and topical issues of bilateral relations, including the parliamentary control over the implementation of the active contractual basis.

From the Abkhaz side, deputies to the de facto speaker participated in the meeting: Fazlibey Avidzba, Astamur Arshba and Ashot Minosyan; from the Russian side: Sergey Neverov, Leonid Kalashnikov, Mikhail Shurgalin.

Volodin addressed the de facto parliament of Abkhazia. During his speech he touched upon the issue of trade growth and the development of tourism between the two “countries.” According to him, Abkhazia is the second in the list of five most attractive places for Russian tourists. Volodin expressed gratitude to Abkhaz volunteers who participated in the Russian military aggression in Ukraine.

Volodin and Ashuba signed a cooperation agreement, which created a working group to resolve the existing issues in a parliamentary format. The meeting of the working group will be held in a few months.

Within the framework of the visit, Volodin paid tribute to the memorial of those who died in the “Patriotic War of the Abkhaz People” in 1992-1993 and laid a wreath of flowers at the memorial in the “Battle Glory Park” in Sokhumi.