Gela Bezhuashvili, who was in Moscow for a two-day session of an economic alliance of Black Sea countries November 1-2, said that one of the objectives of his visit to Moscow was to discuss the resumption of a full-fledged dialogue between the two countries, which are locked in a diplomatic standoff.
"They did not set such unrealistic goals," Sergei Lavrov said, when asked whether the Georgian side had sought the lifting of economic sanctions imposed against Tbilisi. "Once again we heard Georgia's assurances that it is interested to have normal, friendly relations with Russia."
Lavrov said Friday Georgia must stop its hostile actions to normalize its relations with Russia.
Bezhuashvili said earlier his talks with the Russian foreign minister were positive, although he did not provide any information on concrete results.
"The meeting [with Sergei Lavrov] was fruitful," he said, adding that [given recent tensions] any meeting could be called an improvement in relations.
The ongoing diplomatic feud began when Georgia briefly arrested four Russian officers on espionage charges in late September. Russia subsequently suspended transport and mail links with the Caucasus state, cracked down on businesses allegedly related to the Georgian mafia in the country, and deported hundreds of Georgians accused of residing in Russia illegally.
Before the current crisis, relations between Russia and its small mountainous neighbor were already strained. The Georgian leadership accuses Russia of backing separatists in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, where Russian troops have been stationed since bloody conflicts in the 1990s.
Russia has, in turn, warned the world that Georgia's openly bellicose statements with respect to the self-proclaimed republics and moves to build up its army can lead to a new wave of violence in the region.
Bezhuashvili said he did not discuss the possibility of a meeting between the Georgian and Russian presidents during the summit of the leaders of the CIS, a loose union of former Soviet republics, which will take place in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, in late November.
The sharp deterioration of relations between the two ex-Soviet neighbors has led several countries, including the U.S., to urge them to calm the situation and prevent tensions from spiraling out of control.
