Moscow is seriously aiming to normalize relations with Georgia, provided that it does not become a “pawn” in the games against Russia, Mikhail Kalugin, director of the Fourth Department for the CIS countries of the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Russian media.

“Russia is seriously aiming to normalize relations with Georgia. The main thing is that Georgia does not become a “pawn” in the anti-Russian games,” Kalugin said.

According to him, Russia is striving for “stable relations with Georgia.”

“Tbilisi demonstrates healthy pragmatism and a tendency towards a multi-vector approach in foreign affairs,” he added.

In particular, according to Kalugin, Georgia did not join the “anti-Russian sanctions coalition” and rejected the “unwise scenario of opening a second front against Russia, which was being imposed on it from the outside.”

"Thanks to this, we have achieved a lot in the economic sphere over the past few years. We do not have diplomatic relations, but we have active ties that bring tangible benefits," Kalugin said.