The Russian Ministry of Justice (Minyust) has removed Abkhaz journalist Inal Khashig from the registry of foreign agents. He announced this on the social network Facebook, noting that the decision was made without any appeals or requests on his part. According to the journalist, he made no attempts to seek a review of his status and does not know the true reasons why the Russian authorities reversed their previous decision.
“I hope that the review of my status by the Kremlin is a political decision aimed at smoothing over the problematic issues that arose in Russian-Abkhaz relations during the presidency of Aslan Bzhania,” he noted.
Inal Khashig linked his inclusion in the foreign agents registry in March last year to the policies of the former leadership in Sukhumi. It was during that period that several people were stripped of their Russian citizenship, criminal cases were initiated, entry bans to Russia were imposed, and he himself and his colleagues—journalists Izida Chania and Nizfa Arshba—were designated as foreign agents.
At the same time, the journalist emphasized that the decision of the Russian Ministry of Justice would only be significant if it became part of a broader process of normalizing relations between Moscow and Sukhumi.
“Yesterday’s decision is unlikely to be of serious significance either for me or for Abkhaz society as a whole if it remains a one-off action rather than becoming a starting point for a reset of Russian-Abkhaz relations,” he stated.
He also expressed hope that the next step would be the removal of his colleagues, Izida Chania and Nizfa Arshba, from the foreign agents registry.
According to the journalist, such decisions could serve as a signal for reviewing a number of controversial measures adopted in recent years that have negatively affected relations between Russia and Abkhaz society.
