Georgian FM: Moscow Wants to Start Talks with Tbilisi

There are “signals” indicating that Russia wants to start talks with Georgia, but it is impossible under the current condition when Moscow continues occupying 20% of the country’s territory, Grigol Vashadze, the Georgian foreign minister, said on October 16.

“Signals are coming that they [Russian authorities] want to start talking with us; but they want to do that just for one reason – in order to then run to Brussels or Washington to say: ‘we are already direct talks with them [Georgians], it is not a problem any more, forget about it’,” Vashadze told Rustavi 2 TV’s political talk show, Position.

He said Russia’s tactic was imposing, what Moscow calls, “new reality” that emerged after the August war and “starting talks with rest of 80% of Georgia from empty page.”

“No matter who comes into power in Georgia, no one will start talks with Russia unless de-occupation of our territories,” Vashadze said.

“Let them start direct talks with Moscow now, who have a treason on their mind,” he said. “I will immediately resign if someone does that.”

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