Deputy foreign Minister Grigory Karasin
© EPA/SALVATORE DI NOLFI
MOSCOW, January 30. /TASS/. The special representative of the Prime Minister of Georgia for relations with Russia Zurab Abashidze does not rule out that at the next meeting with state Secretary, Deputy Minister of foreign Affairs of Russia Grigory Karasin may to discuss the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries. About this newspaper “Izvestia” with reference to the Abashidze. He Grigory Karasin told the publication that welcomes such an initiative.
“If my esteemed colleague Zurab Abashidze has indeed made such a statement, it can only be welcomed. As is known, Russia has not severed diplomatic relations in September 2008, and the barriers to their recovery was not there, so that the timing of positive changes in this question depend solely on Tbilisi,” – said Karasin.
The Deputy Minister said that he and Abashidze efforts “to normalize bilateral relations in areas where this is possible in the absence of diplomatic relations”. “A lot of these areas – trade, transportation, humanitarian ties, cultural exchanges. We will systematically continue this work. Very tangible results that we have managed to achieve to fully meet the interests of the citizens of our two countries,” Karasin said.
Earlier official representative of Russian foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said that on 7 February in Prague Karasin and Abashidze will hold a meeting “to discuss practical questions of Russian-Georgian relations”.