Land ownership is a sensitive issue in Abkhazia. The deal also sparked controversy in Georgia proper, where critics accused the government of closing its eyes to Russian expansion.
Many outsiders have been calling on Georgia to take advantage of Russian weakness to reclaim its lost territories. But Georgians themselves aren’t having it.
Every country in the region has its own relationship with self-proclaimed breakaway republics, forcing them to reckon in their own ways with Russia’s moves in Ukraine.
In our weekly briefing: The Taliban visit Ashgabat, the dauphin is received by Uzbekistan’s president, and authorities tighten control after unrest in neighboring Kazakhstan.