Syria and Abkhazia
The issue of Syria’s recognition of Abkhazia has once again become a topic of political discussion. According to Nika Gvaramia, leader of the “Coalition for Changes” party, they sent a letter to Ursula von der Leyen requesting that in any relations with Syria, the issue of Syria revoking its recognition of Abkhazia must be included on the agenda for discussion.
In the official letter received by the coalition, the President of the European Commission confirmed that the issue of revoking the recognition of Abkhazia will definitely be included in negotiations with Syria regarding the provision of aid by the European Union.
Neither the appeal of the Georgian coalition nor von der Leyen’s response to it received attention in the Abkhaz media. This comes despite the fact that the Syrian vector is considered significant in foreign policy, especially given the recent visit to Damascus by a delegation from the Abkhaz Ministry of Foreign Affairs led by the minister.
Reactions on social media, based on their content and tone, can be conditionally divided into several groups.
The majority of the Abkhaz audience expresses indifference to the potential revocation of recognition (“Nothing will change“). Users point out that the withdrawal of recognition by individual countries (citing the past case of Nauru withdrawing its recognition of Abkhazia) had no impact on daily life: “we live as we lived before,” “we got no sweet perks from their recognition.” In their view, Abkhazia’s survival does not depend on the progress of international recognition, but is determined by Russia’s support.
The second category expresses noticeably greater anxiety: the European reaction is perceived as attempts to destabilize the Caucasus (“they just won’t give it a rest, they just want to ignite a war in the Caucasus…”).
The third category of commentators balances harsh criticisms of the Georgian side, viewing the appeal to the EU through the prism of the unresolved Abkhaz-Georgian conflict: the initiative is described as the reaction of a defeated side unable to influence the outcome of the war other than through diplomatic pressure (“he who could not tame the steed whips the bridle” — an Abkhaz proverb).
The fourth and least numerous category maintains a positive outlook regarding Syria’s position: “if Syria also revokes its recognition, well, that will be unpleasant, but not fatal! Although by all accounts, Syria won’t do it.“
Among Abkhaz online resources, the news was published only in the Facebook group “Wings of the Nation” [«Крылья Нации» – a project with a specific Pan-Caucasian and pro-Muslim focus], gathering a modest number of comments. Comments from the Abkhaz audience can also be found on the Instagram and Facebook accounts of the analytical news outlet JAMnews. The commentators are overwhelmingly ordinary social media users.
The terminology, place names and views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of this website.
