TBILISI. Oct 12 (Interfax-AVN) - Georgian-Russian relations in the context of the recent events in Abkhazia may recover within two or three days, while dramatic statements made by officials in either country are quite understandable in this situation, Georgian State Minister Georgy Arsenishvili told Interfax on Friday.
The Georgian parliamentary resolution calling for the withdrawal of Russian peacekeeping units from Abkhazia should not lead to a serious increase in tensions in bilateral relations because it only took note of the UN mission's report saying that they have failed to perform their functions in the conflict zone, he said.
Anti-Russian sentiments cannot take root in Georgia, Arsenishvili said. "We have been living side-by-side with Russia for centuries, so one event cannot dash the past and the natural mutual attraction of the two nations," he said.
Nor are the Abkhazian events likely to make a negative impact on Georgian-Russian economic relations, Arsenishvili said.
True, the recent unilateral Russian decision to require visas for Georgians wishing to visit Russia did make a direct negative impact on these relations, he said.
Still, bilateral economic relations have significantly advanced and both countries are interested in consolidating them, Arsenishvili said.