Wednesday, October 24, 2007, #203 (1470)

Sokhumi hosts conference to push Winter Olympics investments
By Nino Mumladze

A conference began yesterday in the de facto Abkhaz capital to discuss Abkhazia’s potential involvement in preparation works for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in the Russian city of Sochi, less than 40 kilometers from the breakaway region.

On the same day, the de facto Abkhaz administration criticized the Georgian coast guard’s seizure of a cargo ship leaving the breakaway region.

The website of de facto Abkhaz president Sergey Bagapsh stated that both business and official delegations from various Russian regions are taking part in the conference, called “Olympic Corridor,” to discuss “tourism, transport, communications, security, ecology-related and other issues.”

The website also claims that Bagapsh received an official letter from Leonid Tiagachov, president of Russia’s Olympics Committee, underlining the importance of holding the Olympics-related conference in Abkhazia.

The Russian Orthodox charity fund Peresvet and Moscow-based development fund Caucasus Institute for Democracy helped organize the conference.

In August, Bagapsh announced that talks were underway with private Russian companies to use Abkhaz building materials in the construction of Sochi Olympic facilities.

No official Russian proposal was made, he clarified.

The Olympic Corridor conference is likely to provoke an outcry from Tbilisi, which has warned Russia against investing in the secessionist region without Georgia’s consent.

In a separate development, on October 21 Georgian officials announced that the coast guard apprehended a vessel flying under the Cambodian flag and carrying a shipment of 1800 tons of coal from Abkhazia.

Authorities said radar data showed the vessel leaving the Abkhaz port of Ochamchire, and claimed it was seized, “with the observance of all international laws,” in Russia’s exclusive economic zone, 65 nautical miles from Sochi.

The Abkhaz de facto president’s website condemned the “pirate actions” of Georgia, claiming that the coal was destined for Turkey.

It also claimed the seizure represented the second significant revenue loss for Tamsash, a coal mining company that had previous shipments “illegally confiscated” by Georgia.
A similar incident occurred in July when a Turkish vessel flying the Cambodian flag was seized in Turkey’s exclusive economic zone.
Over the past two years 25 vessels have been seized by the Georgian coastguard for “illegal maritime activities.”



© The Messenger. All rights reserved. Please read our disclaimer before using any of the published materials.