TBILISI, June 29, 22:18 /ITAR-TASS/. Nino Burdzhanadze, the leader of the United Georgia Democratic Movement and former parliament speaker, calls on her country leaders to waste no time and take steps to fully normalize relations with Russia.

“Georgia’s signing of the association agreement with the European Union does not bring us any close to the solution of the key problem - restoration of the country’s territorial integrity,” she said in an interview with the Tbilisi-based Imedi television company on Sunday. “To solve the most vital problems, Georgia needs full-scale normalization of relations with Russia. And to kick off this process, meetings between top officials of the two countries are needed.” She called on “Georgia’s current leaders to take urgent steps to organize and hold a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.”

In early June, Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakly Garibashvili said that his country’s leaders were “ready for a direct dialogue with Russia’s top officials, but such meetings need serious preparation and patience.” “We’ve already pinned down our readiness for a direct dialogue but the time will show how, in what format and where it could take place,” Garibashvili said.