Turkish Trade with Abkhazia: An Apple of Discord for Georgia, Fall 2014

Friday, December 5, 2014 | Download PDF in English

This article discusses how trade between Turkey and Abkhazia increased recently, to the detriment of trust between Georgia and Turkey. As Turkish vessels continue violating Georgia’s territorial integrity, Tbilisi has no appetite for seeing Turkey play a stronger role in conflict resolution and confidence building in Abkhazia. Georgia, angered with the blatant violation of its restrictive legal regime over trade with Abkhazia, started capturing Turkish vessels in 2010. This situation increased the interest of Turkish politicians, and led to negotiations between Ankara and Tbilisi over the modalities of trade between Turkish and Abkhaz ports. While no agreement was reached in 2010, the author believes that an agreement is still within reach if both sides have sufficient political will and creativity.

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Sergi Kapanadze

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