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President: Georgia to continue policy to normalise relations with Russia

He said Georgia would “do everything to reduce” political tension in relations with Russia

© ITAR-TASS/Alexandr Kazakov

TBILISI, December 31, 4:16 /ITAR-TASS/. Georgia will continues its “policy of normalising relations with Russia,” Georgian President Georgy Margvelashvili said on Tuesday. He said on Imedi television hat Georgia would “do everything to reduce” political tension in relations with Russia.

According to Margvelashvili, the dialogue “in the format of meetings between Abashidze and Karasin has not exhausted itself and will continue.” He noted that such meetings give good results. “The direct dialogue in this format has allowed us to restore and develop trade, economic and cultural relations between the two countries,” said the president.

He added that such negotiations would help “create a sufficiently high level of trust between the two countries and the background for the future settlement of many important issues.”

The first meeting of Georgian prime minister’s special representative for relations with Russia Zurab Abashidze with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin was held in a suburb of Geneva on December 14, 2012, and the next four - in Prague this year. Their next meeting will also be held in the Czech capital - presumably in February.

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