Abkhazians insist on their own passports, which meet international standards be accepted worldwide... by George Hewitt

During the 1992-93 war with Georgia, many Abkhazians lost their passports. Even in cases where these valuable documents did not perish or disappear, there eventually came a time when it was no longer possible to renew such relics from the Soviet era. Since the world (and, during the era of President Boris Yeltsin, this included Russia) regarded Abkhazia as an integral part of Georgia, the prevailing international view was that any Abkhazian wishing to travel outside Abkhazia (or, let us say, Russia) needed to acquire a Georgian   passport. This did not require travel to the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, as the document could be obtained from the Georgian Consulate in Sochi. However, though some Abkhazians were prepared to abide by this expectation, most absolutely refused, taking the view that they  had not suffered the sacrifices of 14-months of war to achieve  independence from Georgia only to behave as though they were ordinary citizens of Georgia. And so, foreign travel for such Abkhazians was well-nigh impossible. For quite a while, those without proper  documents were permitted to enter Russia by registering at the border  as though they were stateless persons. 

Requests to the United Nations' Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) to provide temporary UN-backed passports, as was practiced for Kosovars in Kosovo, were to no avail.  Things changed with the arrival of Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin. He gave orders that Abkhazians were eligible to apply for Russian passports. Initially, the process was time-consuming and expensive, but, over the years, it became easier and more affordable. The problem was that many countries (Germany being a prime example) declined to issue Abkhazians travelling on a Russian passport with a visa, hoping thereby to pressure them into applying for a Georgian passport. In the wake of the 5-day Russo-Georgian war of August 2008, Georgia devised its so-called 'Law on [the] Occupied Territories' (referring to Abkhazia and South Ossetia). In theory, this was promoted as a move to ease the isolation of Abkhazia (and S. Ossetia) that it had previously been advocating for 15 years. In reality, however, it was a method of imposing further restrictions by requiring all international involvement in the young republics to be channelled through Tbilisi. 

Building upon this 'Law', Tbilisi has recently suggested that Abkhazians should be allowed to travel freely overseas if they accept new, so-called 'neutral passports' (or identity-cards) to be issued by the Georgian authorities. The idea has found support from Hillary Clinton on behalf of the USA, and both Japan and the Czech Republic have said that they will recognize them. The only problem is that, just as the very 'Law' on which this proposal is based is deemed to be a total irrelevance to the Abkhazians (and South Ossetians), so they regard with utter contempt the latest game being played over the border in Georgia in order to try to convince Georgia's Western allies that Tbilisi has the interests of the Abkhazians at heart. The idea is a non-starter, and there is really little more than can be said about it, as the Abkhazians insist on their own passports, which meet international standards be accepted worldwide, just as they are accepted in the countries (all UN member-states) which have so far offered recognition, namely: Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, Vanuatu and Tuvalu.