Russia has no right to use Abkhazia`s territory for the Winter Olympics in 2014 without official approval from Tbilisi, Georgia`s parliamentary speaker said commenting on an article published in the Russian press Thursday.

Russian daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta published an article Thursday stating that Russia plans to site Olympic facilities in the self-proclaimed republic of Abkhazia, suggesting that investment in the project could reach hundreds of millions of dollars.

"If Russia without Georgia`s official approval invests funds to develop facilities for the Sochi Olympics, then we should remind Russia that Abkhazia is the sovereign territory of Georgia. If Russia continues with capital investment in the region, then the Sochi Olympics will share the same fate as those held in Moscow," Nino Burdzhanadze said.

In 1980 the U.S. and a number of other countries boycotted the Olympic Games in Moscow in protest against the deployment of Soviet troops in Afghanistan in December 1979.

President Mikheil Saakashvili earlier gave his support to the Sochi bid, saying that the Olympics in Sochi, several kilometers from Abkhazia, would guarantee stability for the region.

The region has been embroiled in a protracted conflict for 14 years since Abkhazia declared independence from Georgia, and nearly 300,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in that time. Tbilisi has vowed to bring the secessionist province back under its control.

Russia`s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov announced this week that Abkhazia would be among suppliers of construction materials for the games.

The foreign minister of Abkhazia, Sergei Shamba told the paper that the republic was ready to construct cement and brick production plants to provide materials for the games.
sections: Politics, Sport, Region News
areas: Southern region