Georgia, Tbilisi, May 21 / Trend N.Kirtzkhalia /
Georgian-Russian relations will be discussed at a meeting of the NATO-Georgia Commission, which will be held at the headquarters of NATO in Brussels on May 22, Georgia's Special Representative for Relations with Russia Zurab Abashidze said on Tuesday prior to his flight to Belgium.
Abashidze left for Brussels to participate in the work of the Commission along with the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Davit Zalkaliani.
"We will discuss aspects of our relationship with Russia, including any developments in our talks and the progress of our negotiations with Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin. I will present information on these meetings, and we want to hear the opinion of our NATO partners," Abashidze said.
Zalkaliani also said the meeting of the commission will discuss the state of negotiations within the Geneva format. "The main issue to be discussed at the meeting is preparation of the visit of representatives of the North Atlantic Council to Georgia. The meeting will also touch on the Geneva talks and relations between Georgia and Russia," he said.
The meeting of the NATO-Georgia Commission will be held at the level of ambassadors. On the Georgian side, the meeting will be attended by David Zalkaliani and Georgia's Special Representative for Relations with Russia Zurab Abashidze.
The NATO-Georgia Commission was established in mid-September 2008 at a meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Tbilisi. The purpose of the commission is to promote Georgia's integration into NATO.
Large scale military actions were launched in South Ossetia in Georgia on August 8 2008. Later Russian troops occupied Tskhinvali and expelled the Georgian military. Russia recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia late in August. Tbilisi ended diplomatic relations with Moscow in response and has announced the two unrecognized republics to be occupied territories.