The Abkhaz authorities said that a total of 110,000 Abkhaz passports have been issued, Apsnipress news agency reported on July 28.

Valery Malia, head of the Abkhaz Interior Ministry’s passport and visa section, said passports for ethnic Georgians residing in Abkhazia (mainly in the Gali district) were issued only after special clearance procedures by the Abkhaz security services.

He said 200 ethnic Georgians had been refused passports, but failed to mention how many had been granted one. 

According to the law on citizenship adopted by the breakaway region in 2005, ethnic Abkhazians, regardless of their place of residence or their citizenship; and those permanently living in Abkhazia for more than five years following the adoption of the Act on Independence of the Republic of Abkhazia on October 12, 1999 are entitled to Abkhaz citizenship. The law allows for dual citizenship, but only with the Russian Federation.