MOSCOW, August 13. /TASS/. Russian authorities share the concern over the current state of bilateral relations with Georgia and support the call for their improvement, the Kremlin press service told TASS on Friday, commenting on the open letter of the opposition Alliance of Patriots of Georgia party to Russian President Vladimir Putin asking to provide assistance in normalizing the relations between Moscow and Tbilisi.

"We share the concern expressed in the letter over the current state of the bilateral relations and the call to improve them. Russia has always supported the constructive relations with Georgia. As it is well known, we did not initiate their breach," the press service emphasized.

The Kremlin called the address of the Alliance of Patriots of Georgia a vivid proof of the fact that "despite all efforts of Russophobes and radicals, Georgia still has sensible forces that support the restoration of good-neighborly relations between" the two countries.

The press service noted that "Russian-Georgian dialogue continues" including within the framework of the Geneva International Discussions on security and stability in Transcaucasia as well as on a bilateral basis using the informal Karasin-Abashidze channel. "Thanks to this, some results were achieved in trade and humanitarian spheres," the Kremlin stressed.

Earlier, one of the leaders of the Alliance of Patriots of Georgia Irma Inashvili published on her Facebook page the text of an open letter in which the party is asking Putin for assistance in renewing cooperation, including organizing joint media, cultural and social projects. The politician also accused Georgian authorities of attempting to nip in the bud any attempts to settle the bilateral relations.

The Alliance of Patriots of Georgia garnered 3.14% of the vote in the October 2020 parliamentary elections and won four mandates in the 150-seat country’s parliament. The members of the opposition party, including Inashvili, refused to recognize the election results and asked the parliament to take away their mandates. The parliament satisfied this request.

The Alliance of Patriots of Georgia is well known for its support for direct dialogue of Moscow and Tbilisi, the party members repeatedly visited Russia where they met with Russian lawmakers. Last year, they also visited Abkhazia.

On September 2, 2008, Georgia severed diplomatic ties with Russia after Moscow recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The Georgian Foreign Ministry then added that it would maintain consular relations with Russia. Since March 2009, a section for Russian interests have been operating under the Swiss Embassy in Tbilisi with Russian diplomatic and technical staff. A section for Georgian interests has also been set up in Moscow under the Swiss Embassy.

Since 2012, Special Representative of the Georgian Prime Minister for Relations with Russia Zurab Abashidze and Russian former Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin have held regular meetings in Prague. This format has been the only avenue for direct dialogue between Moscow and Tbilisi for some time.