MOSCOW. May 25 (Interfax) - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin has met with Georgian Prime Minister's Special Representative Zurab Abashidze to express Moscow's concerns over Tbilisi's deepening cooperation with NATO, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
"At the meeting Karasin expressed serious concern over Georgia's deepening cooperation with NATO. The 'military development' of South Caucasus by extra-regional forces poses a direct threat to Russia. Georgia's partners in the North-Atlantic alliance are not hiding the fact that they are arming it precisely to 'deter Russia.' In this situation, the Russian side is entitled to take adequate measures to strengthen both national security and that of its allies.
"The parties stressed the importance of the Geneva discussions on security and stability in the South Caucasus as a dialogue format for tackling the region's pressing problems and devising coordinated approaches in the future," the ministry said.
The meeting was held in Prague on May 24. "Having reaffirmed mutual interest in further maintaining contact, the sides agreed on their next meeting in the fall of 2018," the ministry said.