Georgia's stance regarding Russia to be principled - Georgia PM
TBILISI. April 23 (Interfax) - The Georgian government is interested in establishing pragmatic relations with Russia, Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili said on Tuesday when speaking at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
"Our stance regarding Russia will be adequate but principled. Both countries have "red lines" we do not intend to cross," Ivanishvili said. Ivanishvili's speech was aired live by Georgian TV channels.
Ivanishvili said that Georgia took a unilateral obligation in 2010 to not use force when solving conflicts and the Georgian parliament confirmed this obligation in 2013.
"Georgia intends to return its territories only peacefully and on the basis of dialogue with Abkhaz and Ossetian people," Ivanishvili said.
The Georgian prime minister said that the only official channel of the Russian-Georgian contacts was the format of the Geneva Talks, which involved international mediators.
"The dialogue begun between Tbilisi and Moscow should not create the impression that Georgia started settling issues with Russia by itself and it does not need international partners," Ivanishvili said.
After the speech, when responding to the question of Head of the Russian PACE delegation Alexei Pushkov - whether Abkhazia and South Ossetia will be represented in PACE on the example of Kosovo - Ivanishvili said: "Representatives of these Georgian regions could be in PACE only within the Georgian delegation."
The Georgian prime minister said that the existing law On Occupied Territories would not be cancelled and people coming to Georgia through Abkhazia and South Ossetia would be fined the first offense and held criminally liable if the violations repeat.
When asked about prospects of resuming railway service through Abkhazia, Ivanishvili said that the issue should be approached "cautiously, taking into account Georgia's interests" and that it would take a lot of time to resolve the issue.