The de-facto Abkhazian Foreign Ministry has banned informal expert and youth dialogue between Georgia and Abkhazia and has criticised the actions of local offices of international organisations in Abkhazia.

During a meeting with members of foreign non-governmental organisations working in Abkhazia on January 19, de-facto Abkhazia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Inal Ardzinba, announced that projects connected to the establishment of the informal Georgian-Abkhazian dialogue would be outlawed.

The meeting was attended by Oksana Lasuria, the head of World Vision in Abkhazia, Ada Dzhindzholiya, the coordinator for developing links with the Danish Refugee Council, and Rafis Abazov, the acting head of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) office in Abkhazia.

The minister's announcement was prompted by a UNDP sociological survey performed in Abkhazia in the summer of 2021. The respondents were asked about the country's internal politics as well as the possibilities of developing relations with Georgia.

“In accordance with the law “On Statistical Activities in the Republic of Abkhazia”, only state authorities can conduct sociological surveys. Your organisation simply does not have the right to do this. In addition, this activity must be coordinated with the relevant department — the State Committee on Statistics,” said Inal Ardzinba.

At the same time, the minister emphasised that this is not just the view of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is the principal coordinating body for foreign organisations' activity on Abkhazia's territory, but also of the Prosecutor General's Office and the State Security Service.

Aside from the sociological survey, significant unhappiness with the COBERM initiative was stated. "This is an unacceptable idea aimed at deceiving the population of the Republic of Abkhazia, at establishing a direct conversation between Abkhazians and Georgians at the level of specialists and youth," Inal Ardzinba stated, according to the press office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia. “On Abkhazia's territory, the realization of this project is unacceptable. Make a mental note of it and avoid similar initiatives in the future. This is something we ban you from doing."

Moreover, the de-facto Foreign Ministry of Abkhazia recently made a statement saying that the ministry is the main coordinating agency in relation to foreign NGOs and international organisations working in separatist Abkhazia.

"It is mandatory to coordinate with the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Abkhazia for programmes (projects) to be implemented on the territory of the Republic of Abkhazia by foreign NGOs and international organisations," statement said.

The organisations should also submit reports to the foreign ministry on the implementation of programmes (projects), the personnel involved, and documents detailing information on the sources of funds and spending allocation.

Earlier, the de facto Foreign Minister Inal Ardzinba proposed closer cooperation between the foreign ministry and international NGOs working in Abkhazia.

Praising the work of the international organisations, Ardzinba noted that NGOs supported a sensitive category of the Abkhaz population.