Georgia aims to strengthen ties with Russia - Kobakhidze

Georgia wants to strengthen trade, economic and humanitarian ties with Russia and new Special Representative of the Georgian Prime Minister for relations with Russia Georgy Zurabashvili is already working successfully in this direction, Georgian Prime Minister Irakly Kobakhidze said.

"Our goal, of course, is to strengthen our communication channels [with Russia]. We work in various areas, including trade and economic relations and humanitarian issues," Kobakhidze said.

When asked what effective steps Zurabashvili had already taken in relations with Russia, the PM did not answer, noting that this was a matter of purely national importance.

"I want to say that Mr. Georgy Zurabashvili has already started his work very effectively and work in this direction will continue," Kobakhidze said.