The Issue of Abkhazia in Georgia-Kazakhstan Relations

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to discuss in what way the issue of  separatist region of Georgia -Abkhazia affects foreign and domestic policy of Kazakhstan.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Georgia and Kazakhstan found themselves in a different situation. The independence of Georgia was accompanied by unresolved conflicts in the autonomous regions - Abkhazia and Samachablo. The problem of separatism is also important for Kazakhstan, due to the large part of the population of Ru­ssian nationality living in the northern part of the country. Due to its historical and ge­ostrategic situation, Kazakhstan actively participates in political, military and eco­no­mic associations, in which  Russia plays a leading role.

Since the establishment of interstate relations, Kazakhstan has unwaveringly recognized the territorial integrity of Georgia. This position has not changed despite the events accompanying the 2008 Russo-Georgian war .

The change of the thirty-year government of Nursultan Nazarbayev (2019), the pre­vention of protesters’ attempt to take  over the control of the government in January 2022  with the help of Russia, the Russo-Ukrainian war that broke out  in the February of the same year made Kazakhstan's attitude towards the territories occupied by Russia important again.

Despite the growing relations between Kazakhstan and Georgia, Kazakh po­li­ti­cians, public figures, and the general public are not sufficiently informed about the historical and contemporary situation of Abkhazia.

The purpose of the research is to unveil which factors determine the state and public position of Kazakhstan towards the issue of Abkhazia, how to foster positive ten­de­ncies and resulotion of existing gaps.

In the research, the official documents of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the position of Kazakh state and public figures on the issue of Abkhazia are analyzed  using chro­no­lo­gical, narrative and  comparative methods.