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Russia ready to mend ties with Georgia as far as Tbilisi is ready — Foreign Ministry

"We hope that common sense will prevail in Tbilisi and our Georgian partners will begin to build relations with the neighbors with a glance to the balance of interests," Alexander Bikantov said
Russian Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesman Alexander Bikantov Sergei Fadeichev/TASS
Russian Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesman Alexander Bikantov
© Sergei Fadeichev/TASS

MOSCOW, August 5./TASS/. Moscow is ready to restore bilateral ties with Tbilisi to the extent the Georgian side would be ready, Russian Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesman Alexander Bikantov told a briefing on Thursday. 

"Russia has never equated the criminal regime of [former Georgian President Mikhail] Saakashvili and the people of Georgia. We are ready to restore relations between our states to the extent that the Georgian side is ready for this," the diplomat said.

"We hope that common sense will prevail in Tbilisi and our Georgian partners will begin to build relations with the neighbors with a glance to the balance of interests," Bikantov said.

"This also fully refers to Georgia’s foreign mentors," the diplomat stressed in comments on a joint statement from some members of the UN Security Council on the August 2008 developments in South Ossetia.

"Instead of churning out the theses divorced from reality, they should encourage Tbilisi to restore and maintain an equal dialogue with Sukhum and Tskhinval based on mutual trust," he went on to say. The diplomat urged these countries "to abandon the futile policy towards the reintegration of Abkhazia and South Ossetia into Georgia."

On Wednesday, several members of the UN Security Council (Estonia, France, Ireland, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States) issued a joint statement on the 2008 events in South Ossetia. The document says that "Russia’s actions are in clear violation of international law," adding that "Russia has been responsible for grave human rights violations." The authors of the statement called on Russia to "withdraw its military and security forces without delay and reverse its recognition of the so-called independence" of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyansky said earlier that attempts by the Western members of the UN Security Council to bring up the Abkhazia and South Ossetia issues made it clear that they were reluctant to accept reality.