Russia, Georgia still have unresolved problems: official

A senior Russian official said on Monday that the Russian-Georgian relations still have a number of unresolved problems, the Itar-Tass news agency reported.

"Unfortunately, we've not made any progress on the problems still existing in our relations, but there is political willingness to remove them, and we hope we'll be able to go forward," Igor Ivanov, secretary of Russia's Security Council, told visiting Georgian parliament speaker Nino Burdzhanadze, at the Kremlin.

Ivanov added that Russia "always advocates dialogue, because itis the only way of having all the pressing issues solved."

Burdzhanadze also admitted that Russia and Georgia have so far been unable to put their relations on the right track, saying "we are still in the face of serious problems."

"We understand Russia's legitimate interests, but it's important for us that Russia heed our legitimate interests, too," she said.

"Statements on mutual cooperation and respect for territorial integrity must not be empty words, they must be backed by positivesteps," Burdzhanadze noted.

On Monday, Burdzhanadze will also have meetings with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the speaker of the upper house of Russian Parliament, Sergei Mironov, Itar-Tass said.

Earlier this month, Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania said his country and Russia have different approaches regarding the settlement of the smoldering conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two regions that have been self-proclaimed independent from Georgia for more than a decade.

Recent months have seen escalating tensions between Georgia andthe two territories as Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has stepped up efforts to restore control over them.

On Sept. 16, Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Saakashvili in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan, on the sideline of the Commonwealth of Independent States summit. After the talks, the contacts of the two countries gained pace.

Source: Xinhua