Russia to be ready to restore relations if Georgia wants, FM Lavrov says

17:28, 01.09.2021

“If Georgia wants normal living with Russia as a neighbor, official Moscow is ready to restore relations,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday.

Lavrov claims Russia was ready to grant Georgia a visa-free regime one and a half years ago but hindered due to an “unpleasant incident in Tbilisi against the Russian parliamentary delegation.”

“A gross provocation against the Russian parliamentary delegation, which arrived in Tbilisi at the regular meeting of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO). We have practically no relations with Georgia. Tbilisi initiated its suspension. We have repeatedly expressed our readiness to restore it,” Lavrov said.

Russian Foreign Minister noted that Moscow and Tbilisi have “areas of interest” despite the lack of diplomatic relations.

“We are one of the leading trading partners of Georgia. There is a tourist flow. Our people love to visit Georgia. I love this country very much,” Lavrov added.

By - Marika Kartozia

Politics

Russia

Sergey Lavrov