The major achievement of the first period of thaw in the Russian-Georgian relations is their deideologization; cooperation between the two states has become more pragmatic. Despite the tactical agenda exhaustion, both countries express their determination to broaden the spheres of cooperation. This “broadening” is expected to take place after the Olympic games in Sochi in 2014. These are the conclusions that Russian experts came to during the RIAC round table held in Moscow in December 2013.
The major achievement of the first period of thaw in the Russian-Georgian relations is their deideologization; cooperation between the two states has become more pragmatic. Despite the tactical agenda exhaustion, both countries express their determination to broaden the spheres of cooperation. This “broadening” is expected to take place after the Olympic games in Sochi in 2014. These are the conclusions that Russian experts came to during the RIAC round table held in Moscow in December 2013.
The meeting was opened by RIAC Director General Andrey Kortunov and RIAC Program Director Ivan Timofeev. Sergey Markedonov, a well-known political analyst moderated the discussion.
Head of the Department of Georgia of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Vadim Gorelov; senior lecturer at the Department of applied analysis of international problems at MGIMO-University Andrey Sushentsov; chief editor of the “World Economy and International Relations” magazine Andrey Ryabov; head of the Department of population of the Faculty of Economy at the Moscow State University Vladimir Iontsev; deputy dean of the Faculty of History at the Moscow State University Aleksey Vlasov; Head of the Black sea – Mediterranean Center at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alla Yazkova; head of the Department of the Caucasus broadcast at the “Voice of Russia” radio station Ivan Sukhov and correspondent at the “Expert” magazine Gevorg Mirzayan also participated in the round table.
RIAC continues to work on the project devoted to the Russian-Georgian relations. Publication of analytical materials on bilateral relations is planned as a part of this project.
Expert Meeting on Russian-Georgian Relations
