MOSCOW, February 2. /TASS/. The West wants to turn Georgia into another irritant for Russia again, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a Thursday interview with TV news anchor Dmitry Kiselyov.
"The fact that they would like to turn Georgia into another irritant, to roll the situation back into the aggressive condition of the Saakashvili era is beyond doubt," Lavrov said, adding that the West had tried and was still trying to turn Georgia into "anti-Russia."
He noted that Russia was promoting the 3+3 formula in order to focus the region on constructive endeavor. The formula includes Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as their neighbors Russia, Turkey and Iran.
"The first preliminary meeting has taken place. We will continue along these lines," Lavrov added.
Separately, Lavrov touched upon the events of the past few years. He recalled that in the 2000s, Russia and Georgia discussed creation of a joint anti-terrorist center in Georgia on the territory of one of the former Russian military bases.
"When the bases were withdrawn, when we accomplished our part of the deal, Saakashvili categorically refused to create this center. There were still good times then. No one suspected that he would attack South Ossetia. But even in that peaceful environment, which was characterized by the desire to establish new relations, Saakashvili deceived us. There is no doubt that his handlers told him: no joint centers with Russia," Lavrov said.