Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said that he is ready to negotiate with Russia.
“It is necessary to start talking. And we have stated this always, though Russia is an occupant and invader and has expelled many people of different nations from their houses. Meanwhile, Russia states that it has come to protect them,” said Saakashvili.
According to him, Tbilisi is ready to launch a dialogue with Moscow, but not, for example, Tskhinval, as only 6,000 people reside in South Ossetia now.
“How is it possible? Mr. Medvedev arrives on an official visit to the state with a population of 6,000. The rest Ossetians have emigrated to various parts of Georgia. We have even constructed a new city for them,” the Georgian President said.
“Now it is necessary to speak, but speak to Georgia and not to this pseudo state, which has not been conceived and recognized seriously by any state worldwide. We are ready to negotiate without preconditions. It is necessary to solve all problems through negotiations. We are realists, we are very pragmatic and understand clearly that it is too dangerous to have a hostile neighbor, huge neighbor; in this case it is Russia. It is necessary to communicate with such a neighbor,” Georgia Times quoted Saakashvili as saying.