Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday he hoped a time would come when Russia and Georgia would end mutual visa requirements.
"We are currently moving toward a visa-free area with the European Union. I hope that this will happen in the very near future. I also hope that this time will come for Georgia and Russia," he told a European and Asian media forum hosted by RIA Novosti.
Medvedev said Russian-Georgian political links had been damaged through no fault of Moscow.
"I have repeatedly said that I have no plans for contacts with the current president or other top officials [in Georgia]; our paths have diverged, and our views are too wide apart," he said.
"I believe that President Saakashvili bears direct legal responsibility for the crime that was committed, but this does not mean that we must freeze all other relations. Our peoples have centuries-old friendship, a special history."
Diplomatic ties between the two countries were cut off following a five-day war in August 2008, which began when Georgian forces attacked South Ossetia in a bid to bring it back under central control.
MOSCOW, December 9 (RIA Novosti)
