June 25, 2009 - 19:20 AMT
Russia must respect Georgia's territorial integrity
"To restore Russian-Georgian ties, Moscow should first of all recognize and respect Georgia's territorial integrity," Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili announced in Yerevan. "From the first day of my presidency, I offered helping hand to Russia for establishing cooperation. No country in the world has so far recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia's independence. Besides, Russian initiative towards elaborating new European Security Architecture did not find any support," Georgian President said. Despite complicated relations with Russia, Georgian leadership creates no obstacles for contacts between two countries' peoples. "As long as I am Georgia's President, I won't allow any hatred campaign between two nations," Saakashvili said, adding that Georgia enjoyed international community's support, with "Eastern Partnership" initiative being a fair example of that.