Abkhazia considers setting up an allied state with Russia, Abkhazian President Sergei Bagapsh said in an interview with RFE/RL.

“We are an independent country and that will not change. But we would consider the possibility of joining a customs union with Russia,” RFE/RL quotes Abkhazian President.

Speaking of Russian military base in Abkhazia, Bagapsh stated that its only purpose is to provide security in the region, “We don’t want a repeat of what happened in 1992-93. We need a [Russian] base in Abkhazia for the same reason NATO needs a base in Kosovo. We have fought too much and we want to live peacefully with our friends.”

The President informed that about 50-60 thousand ethnic Georgians displaced by the war have already returned to the republic.

“It is not possible for the remaining displaced persons to return. If they return, there would be many people among them who took part in the fighting. Their children fought. Their parents fought. This would lead to another conflict,” the source quotes Bagapsh.

A.G.