Around 300 railroad troops arrived in the self-proclaimed republic on May 31 as part of a Russian aid program to support the region. The deployment sparked a furious reaction from Georgia, which accused Moscow of preparing for military intervention in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict.
Now the 55-km (34-mile) section of the railroad linking the capital Sukhumi with Ochamchira has been repaired, Russia will withdraw its railroad troops from the area.
During the operation, the troops restored 50 km of track, replacing around 12,000 railway ties and repairing some 20 railway bridges and tunnels. The work, carried out in cooperation with Russian Railways, had originally been scheduled to end on August 6.
Abkhazia could seek more assistance from Russian railroad troops, said Ivan Boboshin, an aide to the commander of the unit that carried out the repairs.
"Abkhazians could ask Russia to repair the remaining sectors of the railroad," he said.
"No such task has yet been set, but if Russian authorities give the relevant command, we will fulfill it," railroad troops commander Lt. Gen. Sergei Klimets told reporters.
In April, then-Russian President Vladimir Putin called for closer links with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, another Georgian breakaway republic, provoking anger in Tbilisi, which accused Moscow of trying to annex the regions.
Abkhazia broke away from Georgia in the early 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Between 10,000 and 30,000 people were killed in the subsequent hostilities. The two sides signed a ceasefire in 1994 in Moscow.
