Russia Ready for Talks, Downplays Parliament’s Vote on Bases

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow is ready to continue talks with Tbilisi over the “functioning” of the two remaining Russian military bases in Georgia, RIA Novosti and Itar-Tass news agencies reported on March 11.

“Our plans remain totally unchanged, and we will discuss [with the Georgian side] the issues concerning the functioning of our bases, as well as concerning the financial issues of this case,” Sergey Lavrov told reporters.

Sergey Lavrov downplayed the Georgian Parliament’s resolution against the military bases by saying that “talks over this issue are held with Georgia’s executive government, which does not support the Parliament’s decision.”

By this statement, Sergey Lavrov is apparently referring to the Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zourabichvili’s position, who, on March 9, recommended that parliamentarians postpone voting on this resolution.

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