Saakashvili: Despite Progress, Problems Remain with Russia

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said on August 27 that Russia and Georgia have made ?serious progress in the pullout of Russian military bases from Georgia, but a number of problems still remain unsolved.” He expressed hope that he will have an opportunity to talk about these issues during an informal meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, RIA Novosti news agency reported.
 
President Saakashvili was speaking at a news conference in Kazan, Russia, where he participated in the summit of leaders of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which was held on August 26. At a news conference on Saturday, Saakashvili described the CIS as ?a useful format for meetings and consultations.?

The Georgian President said that he hopes to hold informal meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Kazan on August 27. ?We have a number of issues which need to be resolved,? he said.

?Recent months in the Russian-Georgian relations have been marked with a civilized breakthrough in solving the issue of Russia?s military presence in Georgia,? Saakashvili said.

?I am satisfied with Vladimir Putin’s cooperation over the withdrawal of Russian military bases from Georgia. This was a courageous step of a politician who can take responsibility and solve issues? There still are very many other issues. I am always glad to have a dialogue with Vladimir Putin,? Saakashvili said.

He said that issues related to state borders are among those problems which remain unsolved. ?Russia is a huge state with huge territories and we are a small state and we do not want to become even smaller,? Saakashvili added.

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian)