Georgia Will Not Urge Russia To Pull Out Military Bases: Defense Minister

MOSCOW, Aug 9 (AFP) - Georgia will not press Russia into withdrawing its military bases, Georgian Defense Minister Georgy Baramidze said Monday.
"We are not making a sore subject out of this question. If we can sort out our relations in all their aspects, this question can be resolved absolutely painlessly," Baramidze told Interfax.
He called for "the closest relations" between both countries, striking a conciliatory tone after an angry diplomatic exchange last week.
Relations between Russia and Georgia had soured after Georgian President Saakashvili threatened to sink ships that regularly bring Russian tourists to holiday in Georgia's breakaway republic of Abkhazia, calling the volatile Russia-backed republic a "war zone" and "not a place for holiday."
Georgia had also warned to shoot down Russian planes flying in the region.
In Monday's declaration, however, Baramidze said that he deplored the tension between both countries and that Georgia was ready to improve relations with its Russian neighbour.
"We have to approach these relations without the emotions which, unfortunately, exist both in Russia and in Georgia. After all, our strategic interests coincide at 95 percent", he said.