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Interior Minister: Georgian government chooses peaceful, constructive way to settle conflicts

"We did not expect and do not expect Russia to change its position by 180 degrees. It is necessary to move forward step-by-step," Interior Minister Irakly Garibashvili said
Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS
Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS

TBILISI, August 8 (Itar-Tass) - Georgia’s government has chosen a peaceful and constructive way to settle conflicts, Interior Minister Irakly Garibashvili said on Thursday.

The new Georgian authorities “chose peaceful and pragmatic ways to settle conflicts. This way will yield results and facilitate the unification of the country”, Garibashvili said.

In recent months several political parties said they had upheld the Georgian government’s efforts “to normalize relations with Russia”, adding, “Georgia’s non-alignment policy will allow us to improve relations with Russia and create conditions for the peaceful unification of the country.”

On August 7, Zurab Abashidze, the Georgian premier’s special envoy for restoring relations with Russia, said it was necessary to continue the dialogue with Russia.

Commenting on Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s interview, Abashidze told Itar-Tass: “Georgia should continue the dialogue with Russia and seek to make the dialogue positive.”

“In recent times the rhetoric has changed in relations between the two countries and it has become more constructive. There are signs that Russia wishes to continue the dialogue with Georgia. It is necessary to continue this difficult process because there is no other alternative,” Abashidze said.

“Georgia and Russia have different positions on the August 2008 events. We’ll have disagreements on this for a long time. We did not expect and do not expect Russia to change its position by 180 degrees. It is necessary to move forward step-by-step,” the Georgian diplomat said.