The words of Abkhazian leader Aslan Bzhania about Russia's intention to build a new base for the Black Sea Fleet in Ochamchira are both an indirect recognition that Moscow has come to terms with the loss of Sevastopol as the main base of its naval forces in the Black Sea, and a new threat to Georgia.
Three decades after the military conflict in Abkhazia, the Russian Federation has been the main determining factor in this region, playing the role of a security guarantor, sponsor, and political lobby. The war turned Russia into a political pariah, and the protracted hostilities hit its military and financial capabilities hard.
