Western pressure on Georgia has not worked, Moscow welcomes expansion of humanitarian and business ties: Russian Foreign Ministry

Mikhail Galuzin, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, said in an interview with TASS that unprecedented pressure from Western countries on Georgia has not produced the result that was expected.

“Let me emphasize: given the close intertwining of our historical fates and geography, Russia and Georgia are natural partners for one another. This is also evidenced by the fact that even unprecedented external pressure on Tbilisi, and ultimatum-like demands that it abandon cooperation with our country, have not had the effect that the West was counting on,” he noted.

According to Galuzin, the relationship is built on centuries-old historical and cultural ties and a shared spiritual foundation.

“Despite well-known political disagreements, we are striving to build a relationship of mutual respect with Georgia. Indeed, in recent years there has been significant progress in trade cooperation and tourism. Every fourth tourist in Georgia comes from Russia, and our large market is the primary one for Georgia’s main export goods. We welcome this, since we see it as our task to create conditions for expanding humanitarian and business ties, in other words, what matters to the citizens of our two countries,” the deputy minister stated.