Moscow is Not Happy With Russian-Georgian Relations

The state of bilateral relations between Russia and Georgia can hardly be called satisfactory, said Russian Foreign Minster Igor Ivanov at a meeting with Nino Burjanadze, Speaker of the Georgian Parliament.

According to Ivanov, there are a number of questions clouding bilateral relations. Some of these "irritants," as the Prime Minister put it, are inveterate, others arose over the last few years. At the same time, the Head of the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed confidence that "our joint efforts could bring up the bilateral relations to a new level." According to Ivanov, Moscow respects Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity. "We are interested in maintaining good-neighbor relations with Georgia," stressed the Head of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Ivanov said that the visit of Georgia's parliamentary Speaker to Moscow was of great importance. According to him, interparliamentary contacts were a significant component of the relations. They compliment meetings at the federal departmental level, and will contribute to finding mutually acceptable solutions to the issues on the Russian-Georgian agenda, the Minister summed up.

In her turn, the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament agreed with the Russian Minister about the unhappy state of Russian-Georgian relations.

"I am quite sure that the worsening relations between our countries are neither in the interests of small Georgia nor vast Russia," Burjanidze said.

According to her, "we must do our best to eliminate all the present-day irritants." She believes "political will" is needed to do that.