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Georgian, Russian Presidents must meet to heal wounds

Georgia’s Deputy Prime Minister Kakhi Kaladze has called for a meeting of the Russian and Georgian presidents

TBILISI, February 11. /ITAR-TASS/. Georgia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Energy Kakhi Kaladze has called for a meeting of the Russian and Georgian presidents.

“We need to start dialogue to settle our relations,” he said in Tbilisi on Tuesday, urging talks also with Georgia's prime minister and adding that preparations were needed.

"Improving political relations between Georgia and Russia, having no diplomatic relations, is not easy, though dialogue and resolution of certain problems between the two countries need to be started,” Kaladze added.

Georgia’s incumbent government took a constructive approach to this issue, he said. It rejected political action used in recent years by former President Mikhail Saakashvili's United National Movement party ruling the country from 2004 to 2012 and which had caused loss of Georgian territories in 2008.

Kaladze said improving relations with Russia was important for Georgia along with its wish for engagement with Europe and expressed confidence the country would achieve success witrh these goals.

Kaladze’s comment followed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statement about the possibility of a meeting with Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili in response to a Georgian journalist’s question in Sochi on Monday.