The visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Abkhazia had “an exclusively peaceful and constructive nature,” the de facto Abkhaz Foreign Ministry said in a statement on August 9.

“Despite numerous populist statements made by Georgian politicians, as well as their western patrons from the United States, European Union, NATO and other structures, who predictably condemned Vladimir Putin’s visit to Abkhazia, we would like to assure all interested parties that the visit passed successfully and the Abkhazian-Russian strategic cooperation continues to develop dynamically,” it said.

The Russian President’s visit to Abkhazia came on the ninth anniversary of the Russian-Georgian war, a week after U.S. Vice President Mike Pence visited Georgia.

The de facto Abkhaz Foreign Ministry also said that “unlike the visit of U.S. Vice President Mike Pence to Georgia, which coincided with joint military exercises of NATO in Georgia launched last week and which pose a real threat to the security and stability in the South Caucasus, the Russian President’s visit to Abkhazia had an exclusively peaceful and constructive nature and it provided additional guarantees for the security and progressive development of the Republic of Abkhazia.”

The Georgian Foreign Ministry, the EU Delegation to Georgia and the U.S. Department of State condemned Putin’s visit to Abkhazia and urged Russia to respect Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.