NATO is condemning Russia’s new treaty with the breakaway province of Abkhazia, which the west still recognizes as part of Georgia.  The deal raises concerns that the lush strip of land along the eastern shore of the Black Sea amounts to another Russian land grab.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Abkhazian leader Raul Khadzhimba signed the treaty just a few kilometers up the road in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.  It specifies that Russian and Abkhazian forces in the territory will turn into a joint force led by a Russian commander.  Moscow will double its subsidies to Abkhazia to more than A$240 Million next year.  It effectively gives Moscow control of the Black Sea from Crimea – annexed earlier this year – all the way to the Turkish border.

“This so-called treaty does not contribute to a peaceful and lasting settlement of the situation in Georgia,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.  “On the contrary, it violates Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity and blatantly contradicts the principles of international law, OSCE principles and Russia's international commitments.”

The deal came to pass only after a change in Abkhazian leadership.  Former leader Alexander Ankvab stepped down earlier this year under pressure from protesters who were reportedly backed by the Kremlin.  That set the stage for the election of Khadzhimba, a former Soviet KGB officer who is more open to land purchases by wealthy Russians than was his predecessor.  Georgia says the election was illegal.

Abkhazia left Tbilisi’s control in a separatist war in the 1990s.  Russian troops have been deployed there ever since.  Prior to that, Georgia was a Soviet Republic.