Moscow Hopes Georgia Will Be More Resolute in Fighting Terrorism

Moscow hopes that Georgia will be more resolute in curbing the activities of international terrorists on its territory, said Valery Loshchinin, First Deputy Russian Foreign Minister and presidential envoy for Georgian-Abkhazian peace settlement at his meeting with Zurab Abashidze, Georgian Ambassador to Moscow, on January 14.

During the meeting, Loshchinin pointed to a certain advance in the two countries' cooperation in fighting terrorism, the Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized.

The Georgian Ambassador voiced his country's concerns about the opening of railway communication between Sochi and Sukhumi. According to him, this was done without the consent of the Georgian authorities and contradicted therefore the CIS decisions on the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict.

In connection with this, Loshchinin stressed that re-establishment of through connection on the Transcaucasian railway served the interests of both Georgian-Abkhazian peace settlement and the whole region. The diplomat accentuated the role of economic factors in drawing together the political positions of Sukhumi and Tbilisi.

At his meeting with the Georgian Ambassador, Loshchinin re-affirmed that Russia upholds preserving Georgia's territorial integrity and believes that the problems separating Tbilisi and Sukhumi can only be resolved through restoring trust and reconciliation.