Azernews.Az

By Nazrin Gadimova

A briefing on the first Georgian-Russian forum to discuss issues of civil society development and Georgian-Russian relations will be held in Tbilisi on July 9.

The forum itself will be held in the Georgian capital on July 11 and will focus on different issues pertaining to the relations between Russia and Georgia and the prospects of their development. The event is organized by the Georgian cooperation forum GPForum.

The main purpose of the event is to create a permanent platform for dialogue between non-governmental organizations in Russia and Georgia for the implementation of bilateral projects, including those aimed at resolving their conflict.

The briefing participants will talk about the plan of activities, tasks, and will answer questions from reporters.

The Georgian cooperation forum consists of leading non-governmental organizations of Russia and Georgia, including the International Center on Conflict and Negotiation (ICCN) of Georgia, the Institute for Information Freedom Development of Russia, Human Rights Resource Centre of Russia, etc.

Georgia and Russia, its giant northern neighbor, have maintained no diplomatic relations since a brief war in 2008. Tbilisi broke off relations with Moscow in August 2008 when Moscow crushed a Georgian assault to reassert control over two rebel regions -- South Ossetia and Abkhazia -- and later recognized the breakaway regions. Georgia announced the two unrecognized republics as occupied territories in September 2008.