Vladimir Putin’s Visit to Abkhazia

On August 8, 2017, after a four-year interval, President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, paid a short (total of 2 hours) visit to Abkhazia on the 9th anniversary of Russia-Georgia War. Putin flew to Bichvinta on a helicopter, where he met the de facto President, Raul Khajimba, face to face, on a government dacha formerly designated for Soviet leaders. Putin’s visit in 2013 also took place on this dacha. This was Putin’s second visit to Abkhazia as a President and his fourth visit overall, as President and Prime Minister. Apart from Putin’s helicopter, seven more helicopters landed on the landing pad in Bichvinta resort zone, after which, meeting with Khajimba started. The meeting lasted half-an-hour. After this, an extended delegation meeting was held. After the end of the meeting, Putin and Khajimba headed to Sochi by helicopter, where they attended a martial arts tournament in Sambo.

Apart from other officials, Putin’s delegation also included his assistant, curator of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region, Vladislav Surkov, Deputy Secretary of the National Security Council, Rashid Nurgalyev and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Grigori Karasin. From the Abkhazian side, the meeting was attended by Vice President, Vitali Gabnia, Secretary of the National Security Council, Mokhamed Kilba, Head of the Presidential Administration, Daur Arshba, Prime Minister Beslan Bartsits and others.

Context of the Visit

Putin’s visit took place following important developments in Abkhazia. Prior to this, an explosion of the combat material depot of the de facto Ministry of Defense of Abkhazia in Gudauta district village of Primorskoe (August 2, 2017) injured 64 people and killed two tourists form St. Petersburg. A little earlier, Russian citizen was killed as a result of an attack by a local from one of Gudauta district villages on Russian tourists (July 11, 2017), which sparked anti-Abkhazian sentiments in Russian news media, dealing a heavy blow to the tourist season in Abkhazia. Russian media paid less attention to Putin’s visit, focusing more on the explosion in Primorskoe and attack on the Russian tourists. 

With this visit, Putin tried to assuage the fears of his compatriots, indicating that Russia considered Abkhazia a reliable partner on the state level and was only looking for ensuring the security of its citizens. 

Putin's visit also coincided with the next round of domestic political confrontations in Abkhazia, which was connected with the consideration of various aspects of cooperation with Russia. More specifically, part of Abkhazians was not enthusiastic to cooperate with Russia, which was also manifested in the prolongation of negotiations and the ratification process.

A week before Putin's visit, the Vice President of the United States, Mike Pence, was visiting Tbilisi on August 1, stating his support for Georgia and condemning the aggression and the occupation of its territories by Russia. During his visit to Tbilisi, Pence also attended joint Georgian-American military exercises. 

Agreement on Medical Insurance

An important event during Putin’s visit was signing an agreement regarding medical insurance. The de facto Minister of Health of Abkhazia, Tamaz Tsakhnakia, and the Minister of Health of the Russian Federation, Veronica Skvartsova, signed an agreement on cooperation in the following fields: organizing medical insurance for Russian citizens permanently living on the territory of Abkhazia in terms of the obligatory health insurance of the Russian Federation and on making healthcare available to them in the medical organizations of the Russian Federation. The agreement would enable Russian citizens permanently living in Abkhazia to access medical insurance and assistance in Russia. 

The issue of medical insurance became important after, according to the opinion of the de facto leaders of Abkhazia, the movement of Abkhazians to Georgia for medical treatment took an alarming form. After the signature, the de facto Minister of Health of Abkhazia expressed his conviction that the number of Abkhazians that were going to Georgia for medical treatment would sharply decrease after the signature. 

The ratification of the agreement on health insurance took place in February 2018.  In May of 2018, seven points were opened on the territory of Abkhazia for distributing medical insurance policies. 

Facilitating Trade

During the visit, Putin also stated that the customs procedures and phytosanitaric control would also change in bilateral trade.  According to Putin's statement, the majority of Abkhazian exports to Russia are fruit and vegetables and given the restriction of exports from Abkhazia to certain countries, there is a good possibility to increase the supply of Abkhazian products to the Russian market. During the visit Putin also stated that various Projects are being implemented with the help of Russian banks in the field of tourism, agriculture and food production – with the overall value of RUB 1 billion. 

In terms of the visit Putin also stated that the funding of investment projects designated for Abkhazia in the years from 2017 to 2019 would be RUB 6 billion. According to Putin’s statement, Russia and Abkhazia have common history and spiritual closeness and Russia will be ensuring the social and economic development of Abkhazia.

Field of Security – Joint Coordination Center of the Ministries of Internal Affairs

During the same meeting Putin underlined that the creation of joint informational-coordination center between the respective Ministries of Internal Affairs will boost common efforts of combating crime, expressing his hope that the new structure would ensure safety of Russian tourists in Abkhazia. 

The agreement on the Formation and Rules of Procedure of the Joint Informational-Coordination Center between Abkhazian and Russia Ministries of Internal Affairs was signed on May 18, 2017. The de facto Parliament of Abkhazia ratified the agreement on July 26, 2017.