TBILISI -- Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili says recent remarks by his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, indicating a willingness to sit down for talks will be "thoroughly" considered.
Asked in Sochi this week if he would meet Margvelashvili, Putin said he would if that's what the Georgian president wanted, adding that the Winter Olympics could help build ties.
Margvelashvili said in Tbilisi on February 10 that Putin's statement will be discussed with Western partners and that a meeting will be held if there is a possibility for it to give "positive impulse to Georgian-Russian relations."
Tbilisi ended diplomatic relations with Moscow after Russia recognized Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states following a short war with Tbilisi in August 2008.
Moscow keeps troops in both regions in what Georgia considers a de facto occupation.
Asked in Sochi this week if he would meet Margvelashvili, Putin said he would if that's what the Georgian president wanted, adding that the Winter Olympics could help build ties.
Margvelashvili said in Tbilisi on February 10 that Putin's statement will be discussed with Western partners and that a meeting will be held if there is a possibility for it to give "positive impulse to Georgian-Russian relations."
Tbilisi ended diplomatic relations with Moscow after Russia recognized Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states following a short war with Tbilisi in August 2008.
Moscow keeps troops in both regions in what Georgia considers a de facto occupation.
