Georgia has downgraded the trip from an "official" to a "working" visit tomorrow because Lavrov will not lay a wreath at a monument dedicated to Georgians who died fighting separatists in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Both regions have close Russian ties.
Lavrov, speaking to Russian journalists in Armenia today, said Russia has a role as a mediator and it would be too "emotionally loaded" for him to make such a gesture.
He added that the conflict "cost the lives of innocent people on all sides."
Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zurabishvili criticized the decision as unfriendly and inappropriate.
(AP/ITAR-TASS)
Lavrov, speaking to Russian journalists in Armenia today, said Russia has a role as a mediator and it would be too "emotionally loaded" for him to make such a gesture.
He added that the conflict "cost the lives of innocent people on all sides."
Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zurabishvili criticized the decision as unfriendly and inappropriate.
(AP/ITAR-TASS)
