Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met yesterday with Nino Burjanadze, leader of the Georgian opposition party, Democratic Movement – United Georgia. Mr Putin first assured Mrs Burjanadze of Russia's willingness to develop relations with all political forces in Georgia apart from its current president, Mikheil Saakashvili. "Regrettably, there are people in the Georgian political leadership with whom we have failed to build normal relations," he said. "Moreover, I believe that their policies led to the tragedy of 18 months ago. But life goes on, and I hope very much that, by relying on people who want to have normal relations with Russia, we'll be able to restore our relations [with Georgia] to their pre-crisis level."
"I agree with you that, unfortunately, Russian-Georgian relations have indeed reached a tragic deadlock in recent years," Mrs Burjanadze said in return. "However, I would like to hope that we'll be able to find a way out of that deadlock. I am more than sure it is in the interests not only of Georgia but also of Russia to normalise relations between our two countries and peoples."
Alexander Latyshev