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Medvedev says Ukraine’s example stops Georgia from siding with West to oppose Russia

"We are in general a friendly neighbor of Georgia," Russian security council deputy chairman noted

MOSCOW, November 1. /TASS/. The example of Ukraine is stopping Georgians from siding with the West for a confrontation with Russia, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview with RT as he commented on the outcome of the parliamentary election in the Caucasus country.

"An attempt to drag Georgia into a confrontation on the side of the West and Ukraine could end very sadly," Medvedev said. "It is not without reason that these various memes and comparisons have spread in Georgia: a peaceful Georgia on one side and a war-torn Ukraine on the other. And I think that this is stopping people."

"We are in general a friendly neighbor of Georgia. Our trade is growing. It has grown very significantly in recent years. Tourism is growing. We have normal economic ties despite everything that happened in 2008," he went on to say. "So, of course, this whole [confrontation] can hit the interests of Georgia and Georgians very hard.

Still, Medvedev said Georgia had a high chance of "clashes, skirmishes and attempts to hold some kind of Ukrainian-style uprising, with various kinds of Western emissaries coming over."

Georgia held a parliamentary election on October 26. The ruling Georgian Dream party won, securing more than half of all ballots. All opposition parties that gained seats in the parliament are refusing to recognize the election outcome. Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili called for protests.