De facto Abkhazian FM claims Kyiv “threatening” him

The de facto Foreign Minister of Georgia’s Russian-controlled Abkhazia region, Inal Ardzinba, told the Russian media on Tuesday that he was receiving “threats” from Ukraine. 

Shifting blame onto Ukraine on the recent murder of Darya Dugina, a daugther of a well-known Russian ideology Alexander Dugin, Ardzinba claimed that “Ukrainian radicals, nationalists are using their traditional tool -threats and murder”. 

“As a personal example, I can say that since 2015, when we [Russia] were engaged in humanitarian contacts in the CIS region, I received threats from Ukrainian radicals and nationalists, and after the launch of the special military operation, I am receivig the threats on a daily basis.  But this will not stop us and will not affect our steps”, said Ardzinba.

Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February of this year, Ardzinba was accused of serious crimes by Kyiv, which concerned  “an attempted change of the state border of Ukraine and violating the order established by the country’s constitution”. 

While serving in  Russia in previous years, Ardzinba oversaw “Russia’s relations with the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk”. 

Ardzinba was sent from Russia to Abkhazia in November of the last year.