Degnan: Russia’s calls for restoration ties with Georgia unreliable until it withdraws troops
Russia and Georgia suspended diplomatic relations after the Russia-Georgia 2008 war, while trade and economic relations were restored back in 2013. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan has responded to the recent statement of Russian FM Sergey Lavrov on preparedness to restore relations with Georgia, stating that Georgia ‘has many times heard’ such messages from Russia and they are not trustworthy until Russia withdraws its troops from the Georgian territory.
She said that Russia ‘has taken no steps so far’ to de-occupy Georgia’s Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions.
Lavrov said earlier this week that if Tbilisi ‘stops using Russia as a card to maintain western support’ Moscow is ready to restore ties with Georgia which were suspended after the Russia-Georgia 2008 war.
Russia is ready for this if Georgia wants to live a normal life with us as a neighbor,” RIA Novosti has cited Lavrov as saying during his recent speech at Moscow State Institute of International Relations.
Lavrov also said that Russia was ready to cancel the visa regime for Georgian citizens back in 2019. However, the protests in Tbilisi that year, which were sparked by the presence of Russian MPs in the Georgian parliament, hampered the process.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says that if Tbilisi ‘stops using Russia as a card to maintain western support’ Moscow is ready to restore ties with Georgia which were suspended after the Russia-Georgia 2008 war.
The Georgian State Security Service says that the hot line has been activated and the country’s international partners have been informed regarding the abduction of three Georgian citizens by the Russian-controlled occupation forces on June 6 near occupied Abkhazia.
Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani said in response to his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov that the Georgian legislation does not consider having trade representations of foreign countries.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says that he would resume direct flights with Georgia, which were suspended in July 2019, as a majority of Georgians ‘have seen the negative sides’ of the ‘provocation staged’ in the Georgian parliament on June 20.He said that the Georgian opposition deliberately sparked unrest in the Georgian parliament after the address of Russian MP Sergey Gavrilov from the seat of the Georgian parliament speaker that day.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry says that statements made by FM David Zalkaliani during a recent interview about a cooperation format proposed by Turkey and Iran which would include Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Russia has been ‘misinterpreted’ by the media.
OSCE Group of Friends of Georgia reaffirms its full support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders. The joint statement was delivered on behalf of Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America at the 28th OSCE Ministerial Council Meeting on December 3.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry has reiterated that Georgia will not be present at a regional meeting scheduled for December 10 in Moscow in the so-called 3+3 format proposed by Turkey and Iran in 2020 which includes Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, RFE/RL's Georgian service reports.
The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) says it is ‘unacceptable’ that the Georgian flag appeared at the so-called 3+3 regional cooperation initiative held on December 10 in Moscow in which the country refused to participate.