Russian and Georgian envoys discuss bilateral relations

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin met with Georgian prime minister’s special envoy on Russia, Zurab Abashidze in Prague on Friday to discuss visa regime, Georgia’s participation at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, wine exports to Russia, direct flights between Moscow and Tbilisi and other issues, RIA Novosti reports.

“Both sides are satisfied with the results [of the meeting], they are convinced that our unofficial contacts have a future. We tentatively agreed to hold the next meeting in May. Its location will be discussed later, but it might be Prague,” Karasin said after the talks.

He described the meeting as “constructive,” saying that it allowed making a step forward on a number of practical issues, such as the visa regime and resumption of direct flights between the two states.

“The Georgian side is interested in easing Russian visa regime for Georgian nationals. We noted that it is quite natural for two states with no diplomatic relations to have strict visa requirements. But, at the same time, we have extended the range of possibilities to visit Russia for various groups of Georgian residents. We will work on ways to further ease this regime. This is a homework that we should do at the inter-departmental level,” Karasin said.

“We’ve touched upon the resumption of direct flights between the two states and discussed ground transportation issues, too,” the Russian diplomat said.