The region of Abkhazia controlled by Georgian separatists has categorically rejected views of its annexation by Russia, insisting that its autonomy from Moscow is not up for debate, according to Politico.

In a statement issued by the foreign ministry of the unrecognized South Caucasus state on Thursday, officials said that while it is a “stalwart ally of the Russian Federation,” its self-proclaimed state is “not up for discussion.”

The comments come shortly after the vice chairman of the Kremlin’s Security Council, former Pres Dmitry Medvedevhinted that Moscow could seek to absorb the two Russian breakaway regions of neighboring Georgia – Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

“The idea of ​​joining Russia is still popular. And it may well be implemented if there are good reasons for it,” said Medvedev, who has been one of the most enthusiastic supporters of Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

However, despite the presence of thousands of Moscow troops deployed in Abkhazia in the wake of a series of wars with Georgian government forces, most recently in 2008, officials in the capital said the proposal was nothing more than a sign of “escalating geopolitical conflict.”

Meanwhile, the secretary of Abkhazia’s security council, Sergei Saba, went further, pointing out that “there are no political entities” in the region pushing for integration with Russia.

“We have not received any formal request to join the Russian Federation, and I have yet to identify any political faction within Abkhazia that envisions such a dynamic relationship with Russia,” he continued.

Home to around a quarter of a million people and with its own distinct language, Abkhazia exists as a de facto independent state from Georgia following the violent civil war that followed the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Hundreds of thousands of Georgians were displaced from the region, which borders Russia, as part of a campaign by separatists, who were often supported by elements of the Russian armed forces.