Georgian President hails his Russian trip

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, February 12, 2004

Georgian President hails his Russian trip

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili hailed Wednesday his two-day working visit to Russia, declaring that a spell of thaw in bilateral relations has set in.

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Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili hailed Wednesday his two-day working visit to Russia, declaring that a spell of thaw in bilateral relations has set in.

"I think that after our meeting (with Russian President Vladimir Putin) a spell of thaw is beginning in relations between Russia and Georgia," he told a press conference, adding that "muchmore trust has been built" during the visit.

Earlier on Wednesday, Saakashvili held talks with Putin. He also met with Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov and Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov.

"The Russian president is quite open for a turn to the better. The main thing is not to let matters slip away," he was quoted by Interfax as saying.

He expressed satisfaction with his talks with Putin. "It was a heart-to-heart conversation," he said.

He told reporters that Georgia has reached with Russia an agreement on simplifying visa regulations, an issue he raised at Wednesday meetings.

However, he did not specify when this could come into effect.

He ruled out the possibility that Georgia would house the military bases of other countries on Georgian territory following the closure of Russian military bases.

On Russian troops' scheduled withdrawal, Saakashvili said that the issue should be settled in accordance with the accords hammered out at the 1997 Organization of Security and Cooperation of Europe (OSCE) summit in Istanbul.

He vowed not allow the issue to shadow bilateral ties, adding that it would "not be an object of bargaining," Itar-Tass reported.

Georgia is urging Russia to pull out its two remaining militarybases within three years while Russia insists that the entire process of troop withdrawal and redeployment will take about 10 years because of fund shortage.

Saakashvili denied that the two countries have differences on the security in the Chechen sector along the Georgia-Russian boarder.

He said that Russia and Georgia have agreed to enhance "joint protection" of their border.

"This is one of the main results of my visit to Russia as head of the Georgian state," he said.

Russia has accused Georgia of sheltering Chechen rebels and foreign mercenaries who launch raids in Russian territory across Russian-Georgian boarder.

Saakashvili expressed his optimism on the prospects for the resolution of the Abkhazian conflict after his visit to Moscow.

"The settlement will continue within the framework of the Geneva and Sochi processes," he said.

Source: Xinhua

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