Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said his Georgian counterpart David Zalkaliani asked him about the resumption of direct flights between Russia and Georgia during their latest bilateral talks, APA reports citing TASS.
"I read his lengthy comments later, his comments, in my opinion, took more time than the meeting itself. Among other things, he asked when flights could be resumed. I explained to him that we have never sought artificial pretexts for a row with Georgia, and if the Georgian government finds a way to responsibly promote its position favoring normal relations with Russia and acts without regard to Russophobes, whom, apparently, the former president is trying to raise against the Tbilisi government, then I personally would be in favor of resuming flights," he told reporters on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Lavrov added that his meeting with Zalkaliani was held at the Georgian side’s request.
"Yesterday there was a meeting with the Georgian foreign minister which he requested," Russia’s top diplomat said, adding that the way Georgians themselves comment on the meeting raises eyebrows and makes him smile.
He reiterated that Russia’s decision to suspend flights was made after the improper conduct of opposition forces, who disrupted a session of the Inter-parliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO) under a pretext they contrived in advance, and being violent to Russian lawmakers.
"When we made this decision it was announced that this is a temporary measure, that we would lift it once the situation is back to normal, when the Georgian leadership realizes the need to quell such incidents," Lavrov said.
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