MOSCOW, August 6 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is ready to re-start relations with Georgia under a new leadership, but does not intend to interfere to force President Mikheil Saakashvili out, a Russian lawmaker said on Thursday.

The two countries severed ties after their brief war last August, sparked by Georgia's attack on South Ossetia, and Russia's leadership has since insisted it will not engage in dialogue with Georgia's current leader.

The break in relations occurred "on the initiative and due to the fault of the Georgian leadership," Konstantin Kosachyov, Chairman of the State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee, told the Vesti news channel.

The Georgian people "clearly can and must change this leadership, but we will not be involved in this," he said.

Georgia's capital saw mass protests this spring against Saakashvili, whose public support was severely damaged by the disastrous war with Russia and his handling of the country's economic difficulties amid the global crisis.

Kosachyov said the current standoff in relations is "unnatural for the two nations", which are "very close to each other."