Georgia Stands Firm: Diplomatic Ties with Russia Conditional on Territorial Dispute Resolution

The ruling and opposition parties in Georgia have made it clear that they will not consider re-establishing diplomatic relations with Russia unless Moscow relinquishes the disputed regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, according to a report by the business newspaper Kommersant, which cites high-ranking officials from the South Caucasus nation.

Following the five-day war with Georgia in 2008, Russia became one of the few nations to recognize these regions as independent states. Since then, the Kremlin has offered military, political, and economic support to these separatist areas, which account for about 20% of Georgia’s internationally acknowledged territory.

On Sunday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin stated that Moscow would be open to restoring ties if Georgia renounces its claims over Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

“We regret that the Georgian leadership continues to tie the restoration of diplomatic relations to our stance on Abkhazia and South Ossetia,” Galuzin remarked in an interview with the pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia. “[This policy] is non-negotiable.”

Diplomatic relations between Moscow and Tbilisi have been broken since the 2008 conflict, although critics have accused the ruling Georgian Dream party of subtly improving relations with the Kremlin.

This perception intensified after the party proposed contentious “foreign influence” laws, which led the European Union to suspend Georgia’s EU accession process and resulted in U.S. sanctions on several Georgian officials.

On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov echoed Galuzin’s comments, expressing Russia’s readiness to restore relations, but he noted there is no specific timeline for such a development.

Shalva Papuashvili, Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, asserted that complete restoration of diplomatic ties is unattainable until the territorial dispute is resolved.

“There is only one obstacle to the renewal of Russian-Georgian relations — Russia’s occupation of Georgian territories,” Kommersant quoted him as stating.

Opposition lawmaker Khatia Dekanoidze supported this position but criticized Georgian Dream for being hesitant due to concerns about public opinion.

“They are afraid to restore relations with Russia because of the potential backlash from the Georgian populace,” she noted.