Georgia, Russia to have next round of talks
By Jamila Babayeva
The next meeting between Special Representative of Georgian Prime Minister for Russian-Georgian relations Zurab Abashidze and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin will be held at the end of the next week.
"Abashidze-Karasin format of talks retains its relevance," Abashidze told journalists.
The date of the Abashidze-Karasin meeting has been postponed several times since March 3.
Abashidze further said the format of Geneva talks also has great importance.
"Georgia has no diplomatic relations with Russia. We consider problems and try to solve them as far as possible," Abashidze noted. "Geneva talks have not lost its relevance. I believe that the negotiations will be relevant at this stage."
He said this time the talks will be focused on issues of economic relationships.
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 regions. Georgia announced the two unrecognized republics as occupied territories in September 2008.
The first meeting of Georgian and Russian official representatives was held in Geneva on December 14, 2012. The last 27th round of Geneva talks between Georgia and Russia was held on March 25-26.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry reported that the next round of the Geneva talks will be held on June 17-18, 2014.