Russia hopeful of “constructive” talks with Georgia

XINHUA online

2005-02-18 10:38:13

TBILISI, Feb. 17 (Xinhuanet) — Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
said Thursday that he hoped to have “constructive” talks with Georgian
officials over their differences on a number of issues during his visit to
Georgia.

Speaking upon arrival at the airport in Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital,
Lavrov said he had received proposals from his Georgian counterpart Salome
Zurabishvili and he believed the two sides “will have constructive dialogue”
over their disputes.

The Russian minister said he hoped the visit will be “fruitful.”

Lavrov’s trip, the first by a Russian foreign minister in more than a
year, is overshadowed by the two countries’ spats over Lavrov’s refusal to
lay a wreath at a memorial honoring Georgians killed in the wars in
breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Georgia on Wednesday relegated Lavrov’s trip from an official visit to a
working one. Some reports attributed it to failed bilateral talks last week
and speculated the trip could be canceled.

During a visit to Armenia on Thursday, Lavrov said Russia intends to
“develop close good-neighborly, friendly relations” with Georgia and hopes
the two sides will make progress in a numbers of areas, including the
schedule and procedure of the withdrawal of Russian military bases from
Georgia and the creation of a joint anti-terror center.

“We have definite proposals to make on the military issue and on
questions of a broader pact,” he said.

Moscow wishes to see a prosperous Georgia and will be striving to assist
it in the settlement of regional conflicts, Lavrov said.

But he defended his decision to decline to lay a wreath at a memorial
honoring thousands of Georgian soldiers killed in separatist wars in
Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

“Naturally we mourn the Georgian lads who laid down their lives… but
we also mourn the victims suffered by the other side,” Lavrov said.

Negotiations between Russia and Georgia held last week in Tbilisi failed
to produce any concrete result over a security cooperation draft and a joint
anti-terror center.

Georgia blamed the failure on Russia’s insistence on a tie-up of the
anti-terror center issue to Russian troops’ pullout, while Moscow accused
Georgia of reneging on its position. But the two sides said talks will
continue.

Russia and Georgia have long been at odds over the Russian military
bases in Georgia and the two regions of Abkhazia and pro-Russian South
Ossetia. The disputes seriously hampered bilateral ties.

Zurabishvili said earlier that Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili
may travel to Moscow in May to attend a ceremony marking the 60th
anniversary of the victory of the anti-Fascist war.

He said the president will hopefully sign a framework agreement on
friendly cooperation between Georgia and Russia, turning a new page in
bilateral relations. Enditem