Parliament of Abkhazia votes against ratification of agreement with Russia
Deputies of the Parliament of Abkhazia voted against ratification of the intergovernmental Abkhazia-Russia agreement on the implementation of investment projects by Russian legal entities in the territory of the republic. At least 23 out of 35 deputies were present at the meeting.
«The bill on ratification of the agreement on implementation of investment projects by Russian legal entities in the territory of Abkhazia did not pass,» Speaker of the Parliament, Lasha Ashuba, said.
At least 21 out of 23 deputies voted against ratification, two abstained.
The document was signed in Moscow on October 30 by the Deputy Prime Minister of Abkhazia, Minister of Economy Kristina Ozgan and the Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Maxim Reshetnikov. The Abkhazian opposition, which opposes this agreement, organized protests.
The President of Abkhazia Aslan Bzhania resigned.
The document, which was announced a year ago, assumes a large-scale expansion of the presence of Russian business. The local opposition says that big Russian business will eventually squeeze locals out of the service and resort sectors. The new agreement will allow Russian companies to obtain land plots. It also concerns multi-year tax holidays for such investors, the possibility of bringing in foreign workers and duty-free import of building materials for construction. For these needs, it was planned to create a branch of a Russian bank in Abkhazia to finance projects.
