Russia urges peaceful means in Georgia's tackling territorial problems

Russia hopes Tbilisi will use peaceful ways in solving the conflicts in Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

"We are very much concerned over the policy pursued by the Georgian leaders, which is aimed at settling territorial problems through the use of force. We must prevent it, and we are doing it, including with the help of peacekeeping operations," Putin said in a live televised interview.

"It is a hard fact that people in Abkhazia and South Ossetia are very much worried by Georgia's militarization. We in Russia are alarmed by that, too," he said.

"If people wish to live side by side, peaceful means must be employed, and ways of achieving accord and compromises found," he added.

"The UN Security Council adopted a resolution (on Georgia) recently. We hope Tbilisi will not ignore it. We are willing to do our best for getting our relations with Georgia back to normal," Putin said.

Source: Xinhua