TBILISI, January 26. /TASS/. Georgia is ready to consider the possibility of a meeting between the foreign ministers of Georgia and Russia, Georgian Prime Minister Georgy Kvirikashvili said Tuesday.
Commenting on the words of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on his readiness to hold a meeting with his Georgian counterpart Mikhail Dzhanelidze, the premier noted that "for dialogue with the Russian Federation, we have certain channels."
"As regards the issue of holding a meeting between the foreign ministers, we will consider this issue and comments on the topic will be made soon," Kvirikashvili said.
Earlier Tuesday, Sergey Lavrov said at a news conference in Moscow that he is open for contacts with the Georgian foreign minister.
"I am open for contacts with my Georgian counterpart. I am convinced that other contacts are also possible. Russian President Vladimir Putin, when he was asked about it, by no means ruled out that possibility if an opportunity emerges," Lavrov said.
Russia-Georgia relations
Georgia and Russia have held dialogue since December 2012 in the format "special representative of the Georgian premier on relations with Russia Zurab Abashidze - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin", which is the first direct dialogue between the two countries after 2008.
Abashidze’s first meeting with Karasin took place in December 2012 in a Geneva suburb. In 2013-2015, ten meetings took place in Prague, which discussed cooperation in trade, economics, transport, culture and the humanitarian sphere.
A number of Russian and Georgian politicians have in the recent months voiced the necessity to hold meetings of the two countries’ official representatives and meetings at a higher level to discuss the current problems.
Moscow recognized as independent two Georgian breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which resulted in the cutoff of Russia-Georgia diplomatic ties. The recognition followed Georgia's attack on South Ossetia that entailed Russia's peacemaking operation in August 2008.