Next Round Of Georgian-Russian Talks Moved To March

A Georgian envoy says the next round of talks between Russia and Georgia on normalizing bilateral ties has been moved to mid-March.

The Prague meeting between the Georgian prime minister's special representative for relations with Russia, Zurab Abashidze, and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin had originally been planned for this month.

Abashidze said on February 8 that the talks in the Czech capital had been postponed due to "technical issues."

No more information was provided.

The talks between Abashidze and Karasin, which are aimed at improving strained relations between Moscow and Tbilisi, began in December 2012 in Geneva.

The two politicians have met in Prague several times since then.

Tbilisi ended diplomatic relations with Moscow after Russia recognized the independence of Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia following a short war with Tbilisi in 2008.

Based on reporting by apsny.ge and TASS