In 2016, Ardzinba played a prominent role in the Surkov leaks.[1] He advocates for the BRICS to play a leading role in international politics, after Russia was expelled from the Group of Eight.[2]
In 2021, President Aslan Bzhania appointed Ardzinba to be the foreign minister of Abkhazia.[5] His appointment was a surprise for many experts on the region.[6] He is the youngest person to ever hold the office.[7] After he was appointed, Ardzinba stated that the deepening of cooperation with Russia was a priority for Abkhazia’s foreign policy.[8]
In January 2022, Ardzinba halted the EU's and UNDP's confidence-building COBERM program in Abkhazia.[9] In July 2022, he proposed moving the Geneva International Discussions "to another more neutral city" like Minsk or Istanbul.[10]
In May 2015, the Security Service of Ukraine submitted to the Prosecutor General's Office materials on Ardzinba's involvement in terrorist activities on the territory of Ukraine.[12] In November, the Prosecutor's Office of the Odesa region began an investigation in absentia against Ardzinba in connection with an attempt to change the state borders of Ukraine.[13][14][15]
In November 2015, Ukraine put Ardzinba on the international wanted list for violating the country's constitutional order.[16] This information was confirmed by the Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine David Sakvarelidze.[17] In December 2015, he was accused by the Ukrainian authorities of trying to destabilize the situation in Bessarabia in southern Ukraine.[18]
On June 10, 2016, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine Vasyl Hrytsak announced that a criminal case was being conducted against Ardzinba in connection with his involvement in an attempt to create the Bessarabian People's Republic in the Odesa region of Ukraine – the formation of pro-Putin separatists similar to the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic.[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][excessive citations]
