Russian-Georgian Consultations Finished in Moscow

Russian-Georgian consultations on problems in bilateral relations have finished in Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry's Information and Press Department has announced.

At the negotiations, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Valeri Loshchinin and Deputy Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Vakhtang Rcheulishvili discussed realisation of the agreements reached by the two countries' Presidents in Sochi on March 6th-7th.

They touched upon the preparations to restore a through railway, Sochi /Russia/ - Sukhumi /Abkhazia/ - Tbilisi /Georgia/, modernisation of the Inguri hydroelectric power plant as well as the return of refugees to the Galsky region of the self-proclaimed republic of Abkhazia.

As the Georgian President's special representative on Georgian-South Ossetian settlement issues Vakhtang Rcheushvili informed Valeri Loshchinin on his viewpoint on the situation in the conflict zone. In the current situation, it is important to prevent escalation of tension and intensify efforts to create a favourable climate for continued negotiations between Georgia's government and the government of South Ossetia, a republic that proclaimed its independence from Tbilisi in the early 1990s and has its centre in Tskhinvali.

Russia believes progress in resolving this conflict is only possible if mutual trust between Georgians and Ossetians is restored and the agreements reached during negotiations are observed.