MOSCOW. Jan 21 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the attempts made by the Georgian authorities to link further development of contacts between Russia and Georgia with the demand to change its mind on the issue of recognizing the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia are destined to fail.
"We cannot change the situation that was caused by the war unleashed by [former Georgian president Mikheil] Saakashvili. The attempts to link the development of our political contacts to Russia's recognition of this situation are pointless, counterproductive and will not get anything," Lavrov told a press conference in Moscow on Tuesday.
"That situation took place and it can't be changed," he said.