Saakashvili earlier asked for a meeting with the Russian president during an informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States on July 21-22.
"As to requests from Mr. Saakashvili, we always regard them with particular attention," Sergei Prikhodko said at a news conference on the sidelines of the current G8 summit near St. Petersburg.
"The timing is another matter," Prikhodko said. "We just have to fit it [the meeting] in the timetable of the summit."
However, the Russian official said political talks should not be used as "a smokescreen to create an illusion of progress."
Bilateral relations between Russia and Georgia have been strained in recent months over the role of Russian peacekeepers in the two breakaway regions, and ultimately over Georgia's aspirations to join NATO and leave the CIS, a loose association of former Soviet republics.
In addition, Georgia's authorities said last week they had withdrawn the signature from a protocol on Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organization until Russia changed its "discriminatory" customs regime on Georgian exports. Moscow said it had received no notification of the signature withdrawal, and dismissed the move as politically motivated.
Mikheil Saakhashvili sought to play down these allegations while speaking on television on Sunday night.
"We really do want Russia to join the WTO as soon as possible," he said. "But we also are not about to turn a blind eye to the targeted attempt to damage our economy by using prohibitive methods."
Russia imposed a ban on Georgian wines and mineral waters earlier in the year over health concerns.
Saakhashvili said it was important for Georgia to have equal relations with Russia, including in the economic sphere, and said his government was ready to resolve all WTO-related issues.
Prikhodko said Monday he was not sure whether the meeting would take place because Putin had a packed schedule for the CIS summit.
"If we have any spare time, and we know that there is a desire to make real steps during this meeting, we will try to fit it in," he said.
Putin and Saakashvili met last in mid-June in St. Petersburg to discuss controversial issues in bilateral relations. Both leaders did not come to any specific agreements but decided to work further on ways to resolve them.
