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Russia, Georgia to repair ties after Saakashvili quits ' Medvedev
24/06/2010
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday Moscow and Tbilisi will
improve ties as soon as Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili leaves his
post.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday Moscow and Tbilisi will
improve ties as soon as Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili leaves his
post.
Long-standing tensions between Russia and the former Soviet republic of
Georgia turned violent during a five-day war in August 2008, when Tbilisi
attacked South Ossetia, where most residents are Russian passport holders,
in an attempt to bring it back under central control.
"As soon as Georgia gets a new leader we will have every opportunity to
restore ties," he said at a meeting with representatives of business,
scientific and public circles in the Stanford University.
The Russian authorities have earlier expressed their readiness to negotiate
with "realistically minded" political figures in Georgia, such as opposition
leaders Nino Burdzhanadze and Zurab Nogaideli. Moscow has stressed the need
of searching for a way out of the impasse in Russian-Georgian relations,
saying it was "key to peace in the Trans-Caucasus."
Medvedev said that the two neighbors currently had "dramatically poor
relations."
"And this is not our fault, because we think that Russia protected its
citizens and interests. Regrettably, it led to sad consequences, but I wish
our relations with Georgia are back to normal," he said.
"Furthermore, I'm absolutely sure that this would happen. The two neighbors
just cannot afford to carry on endless polemics and squabbles. We lived
together for centuries, and we always had very good relations," Medvedev
said.
He said that he saw no chance to improve relations with Georgia under the
current leadership in the ex-Soviet state.
"I don't see any chances [for improvement] during the incumbent Georgian
president's rule, because I am convinced that he did a bad thing, or, to put
it in legal terms, he committed a crime," he said, adding that Saakashvili's
responsibility was up to Georgian people to decide.
He said that despite numerous calls to reverse the recognition of Abkhazia
and South Ossetia, Russia would continue to treat the former Georgian
republics as independent states.
"This is the Russian Federation's approach," he said.
(RIA Novosti)
From: A. Papazian
24/06/2010
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday Moscow and Tbilisi will
improve ties as soon as Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili leaves his
post.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday Moscow and Tbilisi will
improve ties as soon as Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili leaves his
post.
Long-standing tensions between Russia and the former Soviet republic of
Georgia turned violent during a five-day war in August 2008, when Tbilisi
attacked South Ossetia, where most residents are Russian passport holders,
in an attempt to bring it back under central control.
"As soon as Georgia gets a new leader we will have every opportunity to
restore ties," he said at a meeting with representatives of business,
scientific and public circles in the Stanford University.
The Russian authorities have earlier expressed their readiness to negotiate
with "realistically minded" political figures in Georgia, such as opposition
leaders Nino Burdzhanadze and Zurab Nogaideli. Moscow has stressed the need
of searching for a way out of the impasse in Russian-Georgian relations,
saying it was "key to peace in the Trans-Caucasus."
Medvedev said that the two neighbors currently had "dramatically poor
relations."
"And this is not our fault, because we think that Russia protected its
citizens and interests. Regrettably, it led to sad consequences, but I wish
our relations with Georgia are back to normal," he said.
"Furthermore, I'm absolutely sure that this would happen. The two neighbors
just cannot afford to carry on endless polemics and squabbles. We lived
together for centuries, and we always had very good relations," Medvedev
said.
He said that he saw no chance to improve relations with Georgia under the
current leadership in the ex-Soviet state.
"I don't see any chances [for improvement] during the incumbent Georgian
president's rule, because I am convinced that he did a bad thing, or, to put
it in legal terms, he committed a crime," he said, adding that Saakashvili's
responsibility was up to Georgian people to decide.
He said that despite numerous calls to reverse the recognition of Abkhazia
and South Ossetia, Russia would continue to treat the former Georgian
republics as independent states.
"This is the Russian Federation's approach," he said.
(RIA Novosti)
From: A. Papazian