Karasin Praises Bilateral Dialogue with Georgia, Says Russia Committed to Continue

Grigory Karasin, Head of the Russia’s Federation Council’s Committee on International Affairs, who is the Russian participant in the Georgian-Russian dialogue (informally known as the Karasin-Abashidze dialogue after the surnames of the two participants), told the Russian pro-government news agency TASS that he is convinced that “the positive results” achieved over the past 11 years in the informal dialogue with Zurab Abashidze, the Georgian Prime Minister’s Special Representative for relations with Russia, will continue to be in demand after the appointment of Giorgi Kajaia to this post.” He is further quoted as saying: “Russia is interested in pragmatic dialogue and a return to full-fledged mutually beneficial cooperation with Georgian partners.”

On March 11, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced at a cabinet meeting that he had appointed the former head of the Georgian Interests Section at the Swiss Embassy in Russia Giorgi Kajaia as the new special envoy for relations with Russia. Zurab Abashidze, who had held this post since 2012 and since that time was also a permanent participant on the Georgian side in the mentioned bilateral dialogue format, was appointed Advisor to the Prime Minister.

According to TASS, Karasin recalled that in 2012 the Russian leadership “did not hesitate” to support the course proposed by the Georgian authorities for the normalization of bilateral relations, and an informal dialogue mechanism was established “for depoliticized discussion of various aspects of interaction, with a focus on trade and economic relations, transport links and humanitarian contacts”.

Noting that 26 meetings have been held since its establishment, mostly in person (via videoconference during the pandemic) Karasin highlighted issues discussed within the format, such as “facilitating conditions for communication between residents of Russia and Georgia”, “promoting conditions for the liberalization of the visa regime introduced in 2000 for Georgian citizens”, “restoring direct air links that had been temporarily suspended four years earlier”, etc.

He is further quoted by the same source as stressing that these decisions have “created additional opportunities for cultural exchanges, contacts through scientific and educational institutions, youth organizations, contributed to the strengthening of economic ties, intensification of interaction between business circles, spurred further development of tourism” adding that “in 2023, more than 1.4 million of our compatriots visited Georgia.”

He also said: “We have been actively working to create favorable conditions for Georgian products to access the Russian market and Russian products to the Georgian market. In 12 years, bilateral trade turnover between Russia and Georgia has grown many times over, and last year exceeded $2.4 billion. Karasin noted: “Our country has firmly taken the place of the largest market for products of the Georgian agro-industrial complex, including two-thirds of exported wine.”

Among the results of the format, Russian MP also singled out the recent “significant increase “in the capacity of the only operating land route between the countries – the Georgian Military Road – including through the modernization of the Zemo Larsi border crossing point, as well as road infrastructure. He also noted that a large-scale reconstruction of the mountainous section of the road is being completed on the Georgian side, including the construction of a tunnel under the Jvari Pass, “which will minimize the impact of weather conditions on the movement of passenger and cargo vehicles.” Karasin also stressed the increasing frequency and geography of direct flights between our countries saying that “there are already more than 60 flights per week between Russian and Georgian cities, and this is far from the limit.”

He added that all these years, great importance had been attached to humanitarian issues, including the “organization of annual trips of groups of pilgrims from North Ossetia” to ancestral burial grounds in the Truso Gorge of the Kazbegi district of Georgia.

In 2008, after the Russia-Georgia war Moscow recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and Tbilisi responded by severing diplomatic relations. The direct dialogue format between the two countries was established after the Georgian Dream Party came to power in the 2012 elections. Since then, the two members of the format have been Zurab Abashidze, the Georgian prime minister’s Special Representative for relations with Russia, and Grigory Karasin, who was at the time Russia’s deputy Foreign Minister.

The establishment and operation of a direct dialogue format with Russia while it still occupies Georgian territory has often been criticized by the opposition, which also cites the format’s lack of transparency and opacity as its main problems. The format’s operation has been accompanied by controversy over alleged leaks of audio recordings revealing secret consultations between the two sides, against the backdrop of the GD government’s rapprochement with Russia, on issues such as the construction of a new road linking Georgia to Russia and the restoration of direct flights.

Also Read:

• 01/11/2023 – Politicians React to Karasin-Abashidze Leak
• 29/11/2020 – Tbilisi Slams Moscow Over Abashidze-Karasin Meeting Press Release
• 28/11/2020 – Karasin-Abashidze Audio Recording Sparks Opposition Criticism
• 28/11/2020 – Abashidze, Karasin Talk Online, Spark Protest in Tbilisi

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