Shevardnadze: Georgian-Russian relations to get better after 2013

The relations of Tbilisi and Moscow will improve at least by 2013, said Eduard Shevardnadze, ex-president of Georgia.

"The Georgian-Russian relations won't improve before 2013 - the end of office of Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili," Mr Shevardnadze said to the Georgian newspaper "Resonansi".

The former president has noted that relations with Russia "are such complicated phenomena, that we need to wait at least 3-5 five years for them to get better," the "Izvestia" newspaper writes.

Earlier, Eduard Shevardnadze had named three politicians, who, in his opinion, should deal with improvement of relations with Russia: Fridon Todua, vice-speaker of the parliament of Georgia; Irakliy Menagarishvili, ex-minister of foreign affairs; and Vazha Lordkipanidze, former Georgia's ambassador to Russia, as reported by the "Economic Safety" Agency.

In his turn, on February 16, Fridon Todua, vice-speaker, a well-known doctor and vice-president of the Academy of Sciences of Georgia, expressed, for the first time, his readiness to start negotiations with the Russian Federation and personally participate in them.

"If not today but tomorrow, we have to start negotiations with Russia. Russia also wants it, but waits for our first step," Mr Todua told the "Alia" newspaper. According to his version, negotiations will start "for sure", as the "Georgia Today" reports.

In the opinion of Irakliy Alasaniya, leader of the "Alliance for Georgia", settling of Russian-Georgian problems needs the leaders of both countries to start talking.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on February 9 Zurab Nogaideli, former prime minister and nowadays the head of the party "For Fair Georgia", signed an inter-party cooperation agreement with the leaders of the "Edinaya Rossiya" (United Russia) Party.