Abkhazian President Sergei Bagapsh arrived in Nicaragua on Sunday for an official visit and was welcomed at the airport by Foreign Minister Samuel Santos and an honor guard.
Nicaragua was the second country after Russia to recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent after the August 2008 war between Moscow and Tbilisi. South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity is also due in Nicaragua but will arrive later on Sunday after his plane made an emergency landing in Helsinki due to technical problems.
"We see the visit of Abkhazian President Sergei Bagapsh to Nicaragua as an event of great importance that will serve to strengthen our bilateral ties. The world must understand that any problem should be solved peacefully through dialogue and not by force," Santos told RIA Novosti.
Both Bagapsh and Kokoity are to attend celebrations on Monday marking the 31st anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution and Santos stressed the significance of their attendance, declaring that the revolution continues, with the aim of improving the lives of Nicaraguans and creating a just society with equal opportunities for all segments of the population.
The 1979 revolution ousted dictator Anastasio Somoza and brought Daniel Ortega to power. Ortega served as president in 1985-1990, after the revolutionary junta was dissolved, and after three electoral defeats was elected again in 2006.
Bagapsh said after arriving that he was very pleased to accept the invitation of President Ortega to visit such a beautiful country.
"In the short period of time since the recognition of Abkhazia's independence, we have held many meetings, and we arrive in your country as dear and close friends," the Abkhazian president said.
"Our fate was similar to yours. We also attained our independence through struggle and war," Bagapsh said.
On Tuesday, Bagapsh and Ortega will hold formal talks, which will be followed by a signing ceremony for a host of bilateral agreements, including a treaty on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance and agreements on trade and economic cooperation and a visa-free regime.
Bagapsh flies on to Venezuela on Wednesday. Caracas has also recognized Abkhazia's and South Ossetia's independence, as has the tiny Pacific island state of Nauru.
The South Ossetian president flew out of Helsinki on Sunday after a replacement aircraft arrived to take him and his delegation to Nicaragua.
Kokoity's original plane made an emergency landing at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport near the Finnish capital on Saturday after one of the two engines on the Falcon executive jet failed.
He will also travel to Venezuela after Nicaragua and is expected to fly home on July 25, two days after Bagapsh.
MANAGUA, July 18 (RIA Novosti)
