MOSCOW. Feb 28 (Interfax) - Moscow believes that some high-ranking Georgian officials' blatantly unfriendly public remarks about Russia negatively affect the mutually advantageous development of bilateral interaction.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin brought up this issue at talks with the Georgian prime minister's special envoy for relations with Russia Zurab Abashidze in Prague on Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
"Even though there have been positive results, Georgia's military cooperation with NATO, including large-scale military exercises in Georgian territory, remains a serious irritant for bilateral relations," the ministry said.
The sides discussed at the talks prospects for implementing the November 2011 Russian-Georgian intergovernmental agreement on a customs monitoring mechanism in light of the results of the Joint Committee's meeting in Geneva on February 6, 2019, it said.
"At the same time, the Russian side reaffirmed its readiness to start implementing the agreement strictly in accordance with its terms as soon as possible. The establishment of the relevant working group was welcomed," it said.
The sides also confirmed their mutual readiness to continue such contacts and agreed to hold the next meeting this summer, it said.