Russia offers to restore ties with Georgia

Russia on Friday offered to restore diplomatic ties with Georgia for the first time since the neighbours waged a five-day war in 2008 over the status of two of Georgia's breakaway regions. The foreign ministry said it welcomed a proposal from Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili this week to offer visa-free travel to Russians and was looking to build on this gesture of good will. "We would like to once again underscore that we remain interested in strengthening ties between the people of Russia and Georgia," the Russian ministry said in a statement. "We are ready, on a mutual basis, to introduce visa-free travel for the citizens of Georgia. For this, it is necessary for Georgia to ensure ... the safety of Russians visiting Georgia. "We are also offering to restore diplomatic relations between our countries," the Russian statement said. Moscow initially severed transport and postal links with Georgia in 2006 following the arrest of four Russian military officers on spying charges. It banned the import of Georgian wine and mineral water because of alleged health risks that same year. But relations between the two sides continued to deteriorate until the brief war in August 2008 that saw Russia come under fierce condemnation from the United States and Europe. Russia's forces secured the territories of Georgia's rebel regions Abkhazia and South Ossetia and later recognised the two as independent states. Both President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have on previous occasions refused to talk to Saakashvili and said relations between the two sides could only improve once his term expires in 2013. Russia's announcement came two days before it stages a presidential election in which Putin -- who had completed his second term as president by the time the fighting began -- is expected to return to the Kremlin for a third time. Georgia welcomed Russia's announcement with extreme caution. Deputy Foreign Minister Nino Kalandadze said she could not understand how her country could restore ties with Moscow when it still recognised parts of Georgian territory as independent states. "Georgia was forced to cut diplomatic ties with Russia when it occupied our sovereign territories and illegally declared them independent states," Kalandadze told AFP. "If Russia wants to have three embassies on Georgian territory, then restoring diplomatic relations is naturally impossible," said Kalandadze. "But if Russia is ready to de-occupy Abkhazia and (South Ossetia), then there are no barriers to our diplomatic ties." The first signs of a thaw emerged on Tuesday with an address to parliament by the fiercely pro-Western Georgian leader. Saakashvili told lawmakers that Georgia was "ready to give peace an even greater chance and is taking the initiative to unilaterally cancel the visa regime with Russia". But he added that he would also continue to struggle for "de-occupation" -- the withdrawal of Russian forces that have been permanently stationed in the region despite Western protests since the war. Georgia's claim on the breakaway territories is recognised by every major nation except Russia. Saakshavili's visa offer came three months after the two sides managed to put aside years of disagreement over their mutual border and strike a deal that paved the way for Russia's eventual accession to the World Trade Organisation. The two sides then agreed to ask an independent company to audit trade in the disputed region and some analysts now see this as a template for solving their disputes.