The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia, Inal Ardzinba, said that the approval of the dual citizenship agreement between Abkhazia and Russia is a confirmation of friendly relations and dialogue at the highest level between the two countries. Commented on the decision to approve this document, writes RIA News.
The draft agreement was proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and presented to the State Duma on 31 May. After that, the State Duma approved the treaty. On Wednesday, senators also ratified his assent.
“The dual citizenship agreement is another confirmation of our friendly relations and high-level dialogue with Russia,” said Ardzinba.
Earlier, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Russia and Abkhazia Sergey Lavrov and Inal Ardzinba signed an agreement on dual citizenship, which simplifies the procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship for citizens of Abkhazia.
In early September 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed to sign an agreement with Abkhazia on the settlement of dual citizenship issues. According to the legislation of Abkhazia, dual citizenship is provided only with the Russian Federation. Abkhazia ratified the agreement on December 30, 2022.
On August 26, 2008, Moscow recognized the sovereignty of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and established diplomatic relations with them. More than half of the population of Abkhazia has Russian citizenship as well as republican citizenship.
Before Putin declaration“the frog is on our side”.