Amidst the current global turmoil, small news outlets like ours could be the first to close. Help us get off grants and become the first reader-funded news site in the Caucasus, and keep telling the stories that matter.
Become a memberRussia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin has stated that Russia is ready to restore diplomatic relations with Georgia, but does not intend to abandon its decision to recognise the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
On Monday, the Russian state-controlled media outlet Izvestia published an interview with Galuzin, where he spoke about Russia–US negotiations, Ukraine, and Russian relations with Georgia and Armenia.
Focusing on Georgia, Galuzin touched on the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations between Russia and Georgia, the Geneva discussions, and the opening of the airport in Sukhumi (Sukhum).
Galuzin claimed that diplomatic relations between Russia and Georgia were broken not by Russia, but by the ‘regime’ of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, after it ‘attempted to commit aggression against the population of South Ossetia, Russian peacekeepers, and therefore against the Russian Federation’.
‘We regret that the Georgian leadership continues to link the restoration of diplomatic relations with our position on Abkhazia and South Ossetia. We have repeatedly stated, and I am ready to repeat, that the decision of the Russian Federation to recognise the sovereignty and independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, taken in August 2008, is not subject to revision’, Galuzin added.
Galuzin said that during the pre-election campaign ahead of the October 2024 parliamentary elections in Georgia, ‘very sensible statements were made by the Georgian leadership about the need to apologise to the people of South Ossetia, about the intention to achieve reconciliation’.
‘As I understand it, the same attitude is present in [...] Tbilisi with regard to Abkhazia. And these are certainly positive signals. We hope that they will be embodied in specific steps to normalise Georgia’s relations with Abkhazia and South Ossetia based on a sober perception of current realities’.
In September, Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili promised to ‘apologise’ to South Ossetians for the actions of the previous government during the 2008 August War, prompting anger and condemnation from relatives of soldiers killed during the war.
OC Media
When asked by a journalist whether, if a signal was received from the Georgian side, it would be possible to take the path of restoring diplomatic and political contacts, Galuzin said that ‘diplomats do not really like to answer questions that begin with the word “if”’.
‘But in this case, I will assume that you are probably right’, he said.
In response to Galuzin’s statement, Georgian Parliamentary speaker Shalva Papuashvili said on Monday that ‘there is only one barrier to the restoration of relations between Georgia and Russia, and that is the occupation of Georgian territories by Russia’.
‘Russia can remove this barrier very easily’, he said.
‘As soon as we see steps towards removing the barrier, it will certainly be possible to restore relations’.
Georgia severed diplomatic relations with Russia following the 2008 August War and Moscow’s recognition of the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Later on Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Russia is ready to take steps to ‘normalise relations’ with Georgia, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported.
‘There are no clear deadlines, but it is true that Russia is really ready to take steps to normalise relations. We are interested in building good relations with all countries that are ready for this and that want this’, he said.
However, on Monday, Galuzin said that Russia is ‘ready to further develop mutually beneficial cooperation with Georgia in a comprehensive manner’.
He noted that ‘there are many opportunities for this’, adding that ‘Russia remains a key market in many areas, in particular in wine products and fruits’.
‘On the other hand, Russia is the leading supplier of energy and grain to Georgia. Russia and Georgia are united by a common history, common faith, cultural, humanitarian and human ties’.
Izvestia also asked Galuzin about the Moscow–Sukhumi flights, which are scheduled to begin in May, and about Georgia’s efforts to have the International Civil Aviation Organisation ban these flights.
OC Media
According to Galuzin, Russia does not consider the restoration of air traffic with Abkhazia to be connected to Russian air traffic with Georgia. He added that he hopes the Georgian side, ‘with its inherent pragmatism and understanding of the importance of ties with Russia, will continue to develop Russian–Georgian cooperation where it is beneficial to both countries’.
‘I very much hope that the pragmatism and common sense that obviously prevails in Tbilisi today will be preserved in this matter’, he said.
Construction work began in March 2024, with the airport originally being projected to resume passenger flights in the fourth quarter of 2024.
In early March 2025, during the 63rd round of the Geneva International Discussions, international talks convened to discuss the consequences of the 2008 August War, the Tbilisi delegation condemned the resumption of flights.
That same month, Georgia’s Foreign Ministry condemned the construction of the ‘illegal Russian naval base in Ochamchire and the commissioning of the Sukhumi Airport’.
On 6 March, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze claimed that the restoration of Georgia’s territorial integrity would be achievable through consistent policy and patience. His remarks were quickly met with a critical response from the South Ossetian Foreign Ministry.
For ease of reading, we choose not to use qualifiers such as ‘de facto’, ‘unrecognised’, or ‘partially recognised’ when discussing institutions or political positions within Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. This does not imply a position on their status.
Mikheil Gvadzabia
Georgia’s fifth President Salome Zourabichvili warned that Georgia was at risk of becoming a grey zone where Russians could bypass Western sanctions.
The list was compiled by the state-run National Research Institute for the Development of Communication and ranks all post-Soviet countries.
This is not the first time Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has offered Georgia to become a part of the platform.
Russia will allow Georgian citizens to stay in the country without a visa for more than 90 days, including for the purposes of working and studying. President Putin signed the decree to expand the visa-free regime for Georgian citizens on Thursday, which went into effect immediately. According to the document, the visa-free entry regime to Russia now applies to citizens of Georgia arriving ‘to the Russian Federation for the purpose of carrying out work activities or for a period of more t
