Saakashvili Ready for ‘Conciliatory Message’ to Putin

In the interview with Financial Times, which was published on November 17, President Saakashvili pledged to offer his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin a conciliatory message during a meeting planned on the sidelines of a summit of CIS leaders in Minsk in late November in an attempt to ease current Russian-Georgian tensions.

?The first thing is to stop any deterioration [in relations] and, if possible, to get things to normal. For us it is clear: we are not interested in escalating anything with Russia,? Saakashvili said in the interview.

?We want to be seen as a small country with our own interests rather than a part of some international balance of power. We are seen in Moscow as a bastion for western interests and I don?t want to be a bastion for anyone,? the Georgian President added.

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