On January 12, the government of Abkhazia published a statement that paves the way for the breakaway Georgian region to join Russian sanctions against Turkey. The move further reduces Abkhazia’s political autonomy and pushes it into Moscow’s arms. Bilateral trade between Abkhazia and Turkey in 2014 was estimated to be $200 million, only a little less than the $290 million in trade between Abkhazia and Russia. Estimates of the size of the Abkhaz diaspora in Turkey range from 200,000 to one million people, while there are only about 120,000 ethnic Abkhaz in Abkhazia itself. Since there are no direct transportation …read more
Source: The Jamestown Foundation