Repatriants can easily obtain Abkhazian passports

SUKHUM -- President Ankvab held a meeting on the question of the issuing of Abkhazian passports to repatriants. The meeting was attended by the Ministers of Foreign and Internal Affairs, Viacheslav Chirikba and Otar Khetsia, and the Head of the Republic’s Office of the Passport-Visa Service, Lawrence Koghonia.

As it transpired, the Russian Embassy already in April this year had informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia that repatriants could show their Abkhazian passports to cross over the Russian-Abkhazian border. In these passports name and surname of the owner are indicated as in the passport of their primary citizenship, and also noted is an indication of the number and series of the said passport and the country that issued it.

The President inquired as to why this information had not been communicated to interested parties and no decisions had been taken on instituting procedures for issuing passports to repatriants.

"Seven months have passed since the receipt of the note from the Russian Embassy. Why has the matter not got off the ground since then?" the president asked. He further noted that there had been a certain amount of speculation about this.

Aleksandr Ankvab instructed the heads of the Office of the Passport-Visa Service urgently to prepare for the procedure for issuing Abkhazian passports to repatriants and to announce the start of their issue through the mass-media.

ApsnyPress reported on this at the Office at the Presidency.