Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will attend the ceremony to bid his last farewell to Abkhaz President Sergei Bagapsh who has died after a surgery at a Moscow clinic on Sunday, RIA Novosti reports
Bagapsh, 62, underwent the surgery on his right lung in a Moscow hospital on May 21. After the surgery, doctors said his health condition was satisfactory. Earlier this week, Bagapsh's lungs failed and he was put on a ventilator. Yesterday, doctors started to register complications with his other organs but were unable to help him.
The mourning ceremony will be held in Moscow on Monday, after which his body will be flown to Abkhazia.
Bagapsh will be buried on June 2, in the village of Dzhgerda in the Ochamchira district where his parents were buried, RIA Novosti says
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has expressed his condolences over the death of Abkhaz leader Sergei Bagapsh, the Kremlin press office said on Sunday.
"Bagapsh was an advocate of friendship and alliance with Russia and arduously worked on deepening close bilateral ties between our countries," Medvedev said in a message addressed to Abkhaz Vice-President Alexander Ankvaba.
Abkhazia and another Georgian breakaway republic, South Ossetia, were recognized by Russia as independent states in 2008 following a five-day war, which started when Georgia attacked South Ossetia in an attempt to bring it back under central control.
Only Nicaragua, Venezuela and the tiny Pacific island of Nauru have followed Russia's suit. Georgia considers the two regions part of its sovereign territory.