President Saakashvili said Russia had failed to achieve its goal through banning import of Georgian products on its market.

He said that the result of the Russian embargo was “vise-versa of what PM Putin, the initiator of this embargo aimed” when imposing trade restrictions on major Georgian export products three years ago. He said that Georgia managed to diversify its export and that Georgia was no longer depended on the Russian market.

He said that even if Russia agreed to return Georgian products on its market, it would not mean that “Russia fell in love with Georgia”.

“Russia loves Georgia like Lenin, or Shah Abbas [Abbas I, the Shah of Persia notorious in Georgia for his invasion of Georgia's eastern region of Kakheti in the early 17th century] loved [Georgia],” he said.

“In fact, this embargo has lost any sense. The Georgian people has demonstrated to the entire world, that we can firmly stand on our feet; the experience has showed that we should not depend solely on a single market,” he added.