The European Union Has Not Met Georgia's Expectations, Kalugin Says

Russia is striving for stable relations with Georgia. This was stated by Mikhail Kalugin, the director of the Fourth Department for the Commonwealth of Independent States at the Russian Foreign Ministry, in an interview with "RIA Novosti."

"Tbilisi shows healthy pragmatism and a tendency for multi-vector foreign relations, refraining from joining anti-Russian sanctions and rejecting the scenario of opening a 'second front' against Russia. Thanks to this, we have achieved significant success in the economy over the past few years. We do not have diplomatic relations, but we maintain active connections that bring tangible benefits," he said.

According to the Russian diplomat, in both political and economic terms, the European Union has not met Georgia's expectations. Despite the association and free trade agreements with the EU, Kalugin stated that Georgian products are not awaited in the EU market.

The official added that Moscow is seriously committed to the issue of normalizing relations with Tbilisi.