Russia not to attend Georgian president's inauguration

Russia will not send officials to attend the inauguration ceremony of the newly-elected Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili due on Sunday, Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday. "As there are no diplomatic relations, it is impossible to imagine participation of Russian officials in the inauguration ceremony," Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin told reporters. Russia, however, has been monitoring the statements of the new Georgian leader "with interest," said the Russian official. "His ideas about normalization of the Russia-Georgia relations look constructive and correspond with our vision," Itar-Tass news agency quoted Karasin as saying. Diplomatic ties between Russia and Georgia have broken up since the 2008 war, but relations between the two countries seem to be on the mend, as an informal dialogue was held between the two nations in 2012, along with efforts to gradually restore transportation links and trade. "Having been realists, we don't set up inflated aims but are ready to continue constructive work beneficial for both nations," Karasin said. Margvelashvili, candidate of the ruling Georgian Dream- Democratic Georgia coalition, won the presidential elections in October with 62.12 percent of the vote.