TBILISI. Feb 27 (Interfax) - Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili sees no sense in allowing Russian experts to verify the quality of Georgian wine in Georgia.
"Onishchenko [head of the Russian consumer protection watchdog Rospotrebnadzor Gennady Onishchenko] did not visit us himself, but their delegation has arrived, and our officials and representatives of wineries kowtowed them, offered them wine to taste with trembling hands, and looked eagerly at their reaction - whether they liked it or not," Saakashvili said at a press conference for Georgian media on Tuesday evening.
"Everybody knows what Russian officials need. Put something in their pocket, and they will go home happy. Do you really think they have come here to inspect something?" Saakashvili said.
When Russia imports Bavarian sausage, nobody calls Russian experts to Bavaria to inspect its quality, Saakashvili said.
"If Bavarian sausage comes to Russia without such inspections, does this mean we are still in the Soviet Union? Or why haven't we left that era behind? Why haven't we overcome this slavery complex?" he said.
Moreover, Russia has still not offered Georgia anything tangible in exchange for these inspections, he said.