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Georgian premier sees no grounds to launch direct talks with Russian leadership

On September 2, 2008, Georgia severed diplomatic ties with Russia after Moscow recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia

TBILISI, November 23. /TASS/. Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili believes that the conditions are not yet ripe for launching direct talks with the Russian leadership.

"You know that we have the Geneva format of talks [with Russia]. We have no direct contacts on political issues. The only format that exists is the Karasin-Abashidze format, limited to trade, economic and cultural issues only. I think that good preparations and comprehension are required for attempts to organize direct contacts. It should be a result-oriented meeting, not a meeting just for the sake of a meeting," he told Georgia’s Channel One.

Commenting on the possibility of a meeting with top Russian state officials, the premier said that every country, including Georgia, must be guided by its national interests in such matters.

"We all understand very well that any normal functioning state acts - and is obliged to act - in line with its national interests. Naturally, we have our own interests, while our neighbors have their own. That is why I think that a meeting of this kind requires thorough preparations," he said.

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 has 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. This format has been the only avenue for direct dialogue between Moscow and Tbilisi for some time.

International Discussions on Security and Stability in the South Caucasus have been held in Geneva since 2008 with the participation of Russia, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and the United States through the mediation of the UN, EU and OSCE envoys. The Geneva Discussions remain the only platform for dialogue between Sukhum, Tskhinval and Tbilisi.