Georgia is to set up a special department at the Foreign Ministry to improve relations with Russia, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said Friday.
"The special department at the Foreign Ministry will deal with mending relations with the Russian Federation," Saakashvili said at the inaugural ceremony of Foreign Minister David Bakradze, who was approved to the post Thursday.
"An experienced official will be appointed as head of that department, who will be able to work productively and successfully towards patching Georgian-Russian relations," the president said.
Saakashvili said he has invited Giya Vashadze, a highly experienced diplomat, to work for the Foreign Ministry.
Praising Vashadze for his sound knowledge about the Russian policy, the president said he expected Vashadze would work actively to mend ties with Russia.
On Thursday, Bakradze discussed bilateral ties over the phone with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov after he officially became the country's foreign minister.
The two ministers agreed to strengthen dialogues to mend bilateral ties.
Relations between Georgia and Russia remain tense due to disputes over Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, its bid for NATO membership and Russia's economic embargo.
After winning the snap presidential election on Jan. 5, Saakashvili reiterated that he is ready to improve ties with Moscow.
Source: Xinhua
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