Russia Hopes Georgia Will Seize Opportunities for Better Relations

ST. PETERSBURG, June 4. /TASS/. Russia strives to build relations with Georgia based on the principles of good-neighborliness and mutual respect and is making every effort to do so, but "this must be a two-way street." Moscow hopes that Tbilisi will listen to the voice of the Georgian people, see real prospects and opportunities in developing relations between the countries, and seize these opportunities, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.

During a news briefing on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), she emphasized that Russia strives to build contacts with Georgia on a good-neighborly basis, based on the principles of equality and mutual respect.

"Much has already been accomplished in trade, transportation, tourism, and humanitarian exchanges - everything is already developing," she noted.

According to Zakharova, the fact that ties between Moscow and Tbilisi in these areas are not only continuing but are actually growing is a wonderful trend. "I would like to remind you that important preconditions for this were the decisions made in 2023 by Russian President [Vladimir Putin] to resume air travel and waive visas for short-term visits by Georgian citizens, who can now see everything with their own eyes," she noted.

In this case, Zakharova pointed out, truth has a price - the price of a ticket, both for a plane and not just a plane.

"To further encourage humanitarian and business ties, in October 2024, the visa-free regime was extended to Georgian citizens coming to Russia for study, work, and long-term residence," she recalled. "You can't even imagine the dramas that sometimes happened: families were separated between the two countries and couldn't travel normally to see each other."

"We are ready, I repeat, to further expand relations with Georgia, but it must be a two-way street," Zakharova diplomat emphasized. "You mentioned the strong demand from Georgian society for a resumption of dialogue and for overcoming existing disagreements with Russia. You know, we don't intend to interfere in anyone's internal affairs, and we don't intend to interfere in Georgia's affairs. We truly hope that the current Georgian authorities, who are trying to pursue a pragmatic policy, will simply turn an attentive ear to the voices of their people and see real opportunities and prospects, and take advantage of them."

TASS is the general media partner of the SPIEF.