The final stage of the exercises was attended by the Vice-President of Abkhazia Badra Gunba
SUKHUM, January 30. /tass/. The first joint Russian-Abkhaz anti-terrorist exercises ended on Sunday in Sukhum, the leadership of the State Security Service (SSS) of Abkhazia rated them "good", a TASS correspondent reports from the exercises.
The exercises began on January 27 and took place in a multi-storey building of the Council of Ministers of Abkhazia that burned down during the Georgian-Abkhaz war near Freedom Square in the center of Sukhum. The Vice-President of Abkhazia Badra Gunba was present at the final stage of the exercises.
"For the first time in the history of the special forces of Abkhazia, special events were held together with colleagues from the FSB of Russia, they were organized taking into account existing external threats, as well as internal various manifestations of a terrorist and other nature. According to the legend of the exercises, a hostage-taking took place in a government building. The release of hostages and the destruction of terrorists took place, including with the use of aviation. The overall assessment, taking into account the fact that such exercises were held for the first time, is a four on a five-point scale," Robert Kiut, chairman of the State Security Service, told reporters after the exercises.
According to Kiut, up to 500 people took part in the exercises on Sunday, including units of the FSB of the Russian Federation, the State Security Service, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Ministry of Health of Abkhazia. "This was the first stage of joint exercises with Russian colleagues, and there will be subsequent stages, more extensive, including at sea and in mountainous areas with the involvement of units of the Ministry of Defense of Abkhazia. We must be ready to repel an attack from any side and always be ready for any events," Kiut said. At the same time, he recalled that joint exercises with Russian colleagues are provided for by interstate agreements reached back in 2009.
