Azernews.Az

By Jamila Babayeva

Georgia will continue the dialogue with Russia, despite all the obstacles and difficulties.

Georgian State Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Alexi Petriashvili made the remark at the Georgian-French business forum on May 13.

He mainly focused on the importance of signing the association agreement with the European Union.

"We are confident that this does not contradict with the steps taken by Georgian authorities to normalize the relations with Russia, and the prospects for intensifying the trade and economic relations between the two countries," Petriashvili said.

He went to say that Georgia's trade turnover grows both with France and Russia. "And this harms neither the Georgian-Russian relations, nor Georgian-EU relations," he said. "Despite all the obstacles and difficulties, we will continue our dialogue with Russia. Nevertheless, our choice, the Euro-Atlantic choice has no alternative."

Georgia and Russia, its giant northern neighbor, have maintained no diplomatic relations since a brief war in 2008. Tbilisi broke off relations with Moscow in August 2008 when Moscow crushed a Georgian assault to reassert control over two rebel regions -South Ossetia and Abkhazia- and later recognized the regions. Georgia announced the two unrecognized republics as occupied territories in September 2008.