Russia calls Georgia on dialogue

The head of the Russian delegation to PACE has called for the Georgian side to restart dialogue, while comparing the 2008 Georgia-Russia conflict to the current international effort in Libya.

Konstantin Kosachev, the head of the Russian delegation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the lower house of the Russian Parliament said on Wednesday that Russia considers the Georgian people as its friend. But he noted that the Georgian side is constantly pushing PACE into considering the events of the August 2008 war between Georgia and Russia.

Another Russian official, deputy head of the Russian delegation in PACE Leonid Slutskiy called upon the Georgian authorities to boost the dialogue with Russia as it is stated in the Charter of the Council of Europe.

He reminded that the Georgian side refuses to participate in the work of the PACE commission on overcoming the consequences of the 2008 conflict between Russia and Georgia and also shunned the special hearings on the subject held in Paris on January 17. “This causes regret. The ‘empty chair’ policy and ignoring of the dialogue has never led to a result,” Slutskiy said.