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Russian President Vladimir Putin says he has "no idea" how to deal with Tbilisi regarding Georgia's separatist territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Radio Liberty reported.

Speaking at the first presidential conference of his third term onThursday, Putin said he generally saw "positive signals" from the new Georgian government and believed there are possibilities for improving economic cooperation.

Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili has spoken of his desire to improve ties with Russia, where he made much of his vast fortune.

However, Putin said Russia would not reverse its decision to recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia and he understood that Georgia will not change its attitude toward its territorial integrity.

Putin blamed Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili for the deadlock, but didn't elaborate.

Russia recognized the Georgian territories as independent countries after the brief 2008 Georgia-Russia war.

Backs Duma on Magnitsky response

Earlier in the press conference, Putin tentatively backed the State Duma's initial approval of a bill that would ban U.S. citizens from adopting Russian children.

Putin said the Duma gave an "emotional but adequate" response to the United States.

The bill was proposed in reaction to the Magnitsky Act, which imposes sanctions on Russians allegedly involved in human rights abuses.

Putin said the U.S. legislation "poisons" relations between Moscow and Washington.

But Putin added he must see the exact language of the Russian bill before he reached a final conclusion.

The Magnitsky Act went into force last week.

It is named after Sergei Magnitsky, a whistle-blowing Russian lawyer who died after being physically abused in a Russian jail in 2009.

Praising growth

Putin began the press conference with a speech praising Russia's economic growth, even though it was slightly lower than the previous year.

But he said that the results were good, considering problems that have been dragging on the world economy.

The president talked about other domestic issues, including rising birthrates, before taking questions from reporters.

Putin was reelected to an unprecedented third term in March after serving the previous four years as prime minister.