Georgia Expects New Russian Ambassador

Viacheslav Kovalenko, director of the second department of CIS countries at the Foreign Ministry, is expected to become Russia?s new Ambassador to Georgia, according to the Georgian Foreign Ministry.

Kovalenko will replace Vladimir Chkhikvishvili, whose term of office in Georgia has already expired.

?I am departing with a mixed feeling ? with a relief, on the one hand, and with regret, on the other, because I failed to realize several ideas, which I pushed forward,? Vladimir Chkhikvishvili told reporters following his last meeting with Georgian Parliamentary Chairperson Nino Burjanadze in the capacity of the Russian Ambassador on June 29.

Viacheslav Kovalenko, who has been working for the Russian Foreign Ministry since 1972, served in Belarus in 1992-1997 and in 1999-2003.