Russia is interested in pragmatic dialogue and the return of full-fledged mutually beneficial cooperation with Georgian partners, Grigory Karasin, head of the International Affairs Committee of the Council of the Russian Federation, said in an interview with the Russian state news agency TASS.

Grigory Karasin responded to the appointment of Giorgi Kajaya as the special representative of the Prime Minister of Georgia for relations with Russia and noted that the results achieved during the dialogue with Zurab Abashidze in the last 11 years will still be in demand.

"I am sure that these achievements will continue to be in demand. Russia is interested in pragmatic dialogue and return of full-fledged mutually beneficial cooperation with Georgian partners," Karasin said.

He noted that in 2012, the Russian government unhesitatingly supported the course proposed by the Georgian government for the normalization of bilateral relations, and an informal dialogue mechanism was created to discuss trade, economic, transport and humanitarian ties.

"This was assigned to me and Zurab Abashidze, who had been the permanent special envoy of the Prime Minister of Georgia on relations with Russia for more than 11 years. 26 meetings were held, mostly face-to-face (during the pandemic - via video conference), and constant contact was maintained in a remote format," Karasin noted.

According to him, the mentioned decisions significantly contributed to the contacts between the peoples of the two countries.

"For cultural exchanges, through scientific, educational institutions and youth organizations, we created additional opportunities for contacts. We contributed to the strengthening of economic ties and the activation of interaction between business circles. We promoted the further development of tourism. In 2023, more than 1.4 million of our compatriots visited Georgia," Karasin said.