TERMEZ /Republic of Uzbekistan/, April 1. /TASS/. Russia is willing to mend fences with Georgia, if Tbilisi is ready for such steps, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin told TASS.
"We will take as many steps on bringing our relations on a normal track as Tbilisi is ready to take," the senior diplomat said on the sidelines of a Russia-Uzbekistan conference organized by the Valdai Discussion Club and the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the Uzbek president.
"Of course, we believe that despite the current political issues in our bilateral relations, we will extend them in the fields of mutual readiness and interest," the deputy foreign minister stressed.
According to him, "today bilateral relations between Russia and Georgia are actively developing in the fields of the economy, transport and tourism." "Hence, we hope that despite all the difficulties in the sphere of politics, Georgia is also interested in building constructive relations with Russia," he noted.
The deputy minister recalled about the recent visit of Mikhail Shvvdkoy, Russian Special Presidential Envoy on International Cultural Cooperation, to the funeral of Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II. "We pay tribute to the late Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia. He was a real national religious leader of Georgia, he promoted traditional values, Orthodox Christianity and united Orthodox Church. He enjoyed high standing across the globe," Galuzin said. According to him, Shvydkoy "conveyed condolences to the Georgian clergy and people". "Of course, it is a manifestation of cultural, historical and spiritual unity of Russian and Georgian people. We share common fundamental values," the deputy foreign minister stressed.