Tbilisi says dialogue with Moscow has no alternative

A dialogue with Russia has no alternative, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said, Sputnik reported.

"My government clearly stressed the necessity of responsible and pragmatic relations with Russia,” Garibashvili said at the third South Caucasus Security Forum in Tbilisi. “We have taken concrete actions to promote trade, transport communications and tourism. This dialogue has no alternative.”

He said that the relations with Russia cannot be resolved at the expense of Georgian sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Large-scale military action was launched in South Ossetia on August 8, 2008. Later, Russian troops occupied Tskhinvali and expelled the Georgian military.

Russia recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in late August. In response, Tbilisi ended diplomatic relations with Moscow and has called the two unrecognized republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia occupied territories.

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