Russian Duma Responds to Georgian President’s Statement

The First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs of the State Duma of Russia, Dmitry Novikov, says the idea of negotiations on the problem of Russian-Georgian relations in the "Normandy Format" would be "peculiar, even artificial."

“This position seems to me rather odd, because these problems concern two countries only, and two countries should solve them,” Novikov said. 

The deputy claims that the “Normandy format,” in relation to the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk republics, is a “special situation”, while here the issue at hand is bilateral relations between Russia and Georgia. The structure of the problem is thus different and the same format cannot be applied.

The day before, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili offered the initiative in an interview with Channel One of the Georgian public broadcaster. The President stated that current talks with Russia are futile; therefore, it would be pertinent to conduct a dialogue with Moscow in the "Normandy Format". In her view, the multilateral format is better, because Georgia is unable to conduct negotiations alone and needs support.

The so-called “Normandy Format” talks involve the representatives of the Normandy Four countries (Germany, Russia, Ukraine, France) and aim to resolve a war that began after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014. 

By Elene Dzebisashvili