Relations between Georgian and Russian diplomats important

“Relations between Georgian and Russian diplomats are important,” President Giorgi Margvelashvili said in response to a question about a possible meeting between the Russian and Georgian Ministers of Foreign Affairs.

According to him, diplomatic formats and meetings - during which Georgian-Russian relations and regional security issues will be discussed - are important.

"It is another issue how and in what format it will happen. In general, I would like to underline the position that relations between Georgian and Russian diplomats, be it in the Geneva or the Prague formats, are important,” the President said.

Georgia still has no regular relations with Russia following the Russia-Georgia War of 2008.

Russia still occupies 20 percent of Russian land and violates Georgia’s borders and state interests on a daily basis.

Georgia's current relations with Russia are in two different formats; the Geneva International Talks involves Russian,Abkhazian and Ossetian representatives discuss Georgia’s conflict issues with Georgian, EU, UN, OSCE and US delegates, while the Prague meetings between Georgia’s and Russia’s special envoys are mainly focused on economic and humanitarian issues.

The latter was established through the initiative of Georgia’s ex-PM Bidzina Ivansihvili after the current ruling Georgian Dream coalition defeated the United National Movement Government in the 2012 parliamentary elections.

The two formats are not guarantors of Georgian security and do not prevent Russia from violating international law, but there are some topics that both countries can agree on.

Armed conflict with Russia is not in Georgia's interests, as it is not a war that Georgia can expect to win and such a confrontation will definitely hinder Georgia’s steady progress towards Euro-Atlantic integration.

Meetings between Georgian and Russian top officials seem unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future, but when the time comes Georgia must represent itself appropriately with people who can be trusted to achieve the best results for the country.