Georgia’s PM Bidzina Ivanishvili said that he would not visit Russia, but added he was ready to meet with Russian officials in a third country.

He also said that after appointing his special representative for relations with Russia he was not aware what more concrete steps Moscow was now expecting from him.

“My visit to Russia cannot take place because Russia has embassies in Abkhazia and [South] Ossetia,” Ivanishvili said at a news conference on November 22 after he was asked if he planned to visit Moscow.

“My visit to Russia cannot take place, but a meeting may take place outside Russia, in Europe or somewhere else, although there have not even been talks about it… It was not even yet possible to hold a meeting on the level of my special representative [for relations with Russia] Zurab Abashidze… So in these conditions I cannot visit Russia and speaking about a meeting outside Russia is too early now,” he said.

He expressed regret that Russia had not yet made a step that would be “equivalent” to the one of his “worthy” decision to appoint PM’s special representative for relations with Russia.

Russian Foreign Ministry said on November 3, two days after Georgia’s new PM appointed former ambassador to Russia Zurab Abashidze as his special envoy, that Moscow was now expecting from Tbilisi to take unspecified “concrete practical steps.”

“I think little bit later Russia will analyze better [his decision about appointment of special envoy],” Ivanishvili said.

“The response that was from [Russia] that we should take more concrete steps – I cannot imagine what else I can do, so we are waiting for Russia to take steps,” he added.