Temur Iakobashvili, the Georgian state minister for reintegration, said Georgia was unlikely to cut diplomatic ties with Russia completely, but would at the very least minimize them.

“A final decision as to whether to cut diplomatic relations completely or not will be taken in the next few days,” Iakobashvili said. “But we want to remain within civilized norms and not to start tossing stones; although I can guarantee that we will minimize our diplomatic ties.”

He said that Georgians living in Russia would suffer by completely cutting diplomatic ties with Russia.