Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zourabichvili in their negotiations in Tbilisi on Friday failed to sign an agreement but agreed to set up groups of experts working on six precise issues, the Interfax news agency reported.

After the negotiations Zourabichvili told a joint press conference that the precise issues include the preparation of a framework agreement between the two countries, the withdrawal of Russian military bases, simplifying the visa regime and creating the concept of a joint counter-terrorism center.

Zourabichvili told reporters that she and Lavrov will report onthe progress of the working groups to their presidents in two months.

She thought the current level of Russian-Georgian relations does not correspond to their potential.

Lavrov, for his part, said Russia and Georgia have agreed to intensify negotiations on the dates of the withdrawal of Russian bases from Georgia.

In his opinion "there are agreements by which the Russian bases must be withdrawn. Once there is such an agreement, it has to be complied with."

Lavrov said Moscow attaches great significance to the improvement of confidence between the parties to the Georgian-South Ossetian and Georgian-Abkhaz conflicts.

He confirmed that Russia is the principal country providing peacekeepers for Abkhazia and taking part in the activities of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces in the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict zone.

"But it is the (conflicting) parties themselves that need to reach a final settlement," he emphasized.

Moscow is still concerned over the possibility of terrorists being present in the Pankisi Gorge in Georgia, Lavrov noted. "The fact that terrorists may still be there concerns us," he said.

Meanwhile, in response to the question about Moscow's position on monitoring the common border of the two countries, the Russian minister said that Moscow thinks the monitoring at certain sectorsof the Russian-Georgian border has no use.

Russia and Georgia have long been at odds over the Russian military bases in Georgia and the two regions of Abkhazia and pro-Russian South Ossetia. The disputes seriously hampered bilateral ties.

Source: Xinhua