According to Zurab Abashidze, Prime Minister's Special Representative for Relations with Russia, the meeting between the Georgian and Russian expert circles, which opened in Moscow on March 24, was a private initiative and Georgian state structures did not participate in it.

As Abashidze told InterPressNews, in the current situation, such a visit was not expedient and valid.

"This is a private initiative, which was implemented with the participation of one of the Georgian non-governmental organizations. State structures do not participate in this initiative in any way. So, it is better to ask all the questions about this visit, including the details, to the members of the mentioned group. As for my position, I really do not think that in the current situation such a visit was right or expedient. In addition, the issue of this visit was not discussed in the so-called Prague format or any bilateral format. The last meeting as part of the so-called Prague format took place in November last year. According to media reports, Grigory Karasin attended the discussion in Moscow, he spoke about the Prague format too," Abashidze said.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, a Georgian-Russian expert meeting was opened in Moscow on March 24. About 40 experts, political scientists and scientists from both sides took part in it. In addition, representatives of the Georgian diaspora also participated in the meeting. The event was organized by the Gorchakov Foundation and the Primakov Georgian-Russian Community Center. The participants were met by Grigory Karasin, head of the Russian Federation Council's Committee on Foreign Affairs.

"We look at the post-Soviet space as traditional friends, the existing relationship is characterized by mutual assistance. Russia supports a calm approach to all issues. Anyone who treats us fairly and talks with us openly will remain friends," Karasin said. Zurab Abashidze

As for Russia-Georgia, he noted: "Our relations have a bright future."