Consequences of the Diplomatic Recognition of Abkhazia by the Syrian Arab Republic (2018)

The decision to recognize Abkhazia underlines growing competition between the West and Russia Abkhazia is a partially recognized state — Russia (2008), Nicaragua (2008), Venezuela (2009), Nauru (2009), Syria (2018) — of 8,660km2 and 240,000 inhabitants located on the shores of the Black Sea. During the Soviet times, the region was one of the most prosperous area in the USSR due to its geographic position in addition to a recognized wine industry, tobacco, oranges, and a hub for Soviet tourism....