MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia plans a naval base on the Black Sea coast of the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia, the leader of the region was quoted on Thursday as saying by the Izvestiya newspaper, a day after meeting President Vladimir Putin.
Aslan Bzhania, the self-styled president of the Russian-backed breakaway region, said an agreement had been signed for a permanent naval base in the Ochamchira region.
“We have signed an agreement, and in the near future there will be a permanent base of the Russian Navy in the Ochamchira district,” Bzhania told Izvestiya.
“This is all aimed at increasing the level of defence capability of both Russia and Abkhazia, and this kind of interaction will continue,” he said. “There are also things I can’t talk about.”
Russia recognized Abkhazia and another breakaway region, South Ossetia, as independent states in 2008 after Russian troops repelled a Georgian attempt to retake South Ossetia in a five-day war which ended on August 12, 2008.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Russia had withdrawn the bulk of its Black Sea Fleet from its main base in annexed Crimea due to Ukrainian attacks.
Russia made no immediate comment.
(Reporting by Guy FaulconbridgeEditing by Gareth Jones)
