Tbilisi - Georgia cannot be secure until the "de-occupation" by Russia of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Georgia's defense minister said on Monday.
To settle the Abkhaz and South Ossetian conflicts, “we need a normal working relationship with the Russian Federation,” Irakli Alasania told reporters.
He said he expected Moscow to reciprocate after Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili appointed a special representative for relations with Russia.
“The Georgian prime minister has appointed his special representative for relations with Russia. I hope for effective moves from Russia to normalize its relations with Georgia,” Alasania said.
The special representative is Zurab Abashidze.
The Georgian government has expressed a desire for normal Georgian-Russian relations and suggests starting by rebuilding trade and cultural relations between the two countries, the defense minister said.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin told Interfax on Monday: “It can’t be ruled out that a meeting with Abashidze will take place within the next few days.”
Karasin said there would be a regular meeting this week as part of internationally brokered talks in Geneva on security threats to the South Caucasus caused by the 2008 Russian-Georgian war.
