Vyacheslav Kovalenko returned to Georgia last week following several months' absence caused by a diplomatic row that broke out in September, with Tbilsi's brief detention of Russian Army officers on spying charges.
At his first meeting with Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili since his return, the sides discussed ways of resuming cooperation on all current problems, including intensifying the Joint Control Commission's (JCC) work to settle the conflict between Georgia and its largely Russian-speaking breakaway region of South Ossetia.
"We need to adjust the work of the JCC, and we must present for consideration key current issues, and make decisions at the commission which will lead to a calming of the situation, and a resolution of the conflict as a whole," Kovalenko said.
The JCC, comprising Georgia, South Ossetia, Russia, and its Republic of North Ossetia, was set up to find a solution to the conflict between Georgia and South Ossetia.
The ambassador said that his talks with Bezhuashvili did not touch on Russian visas for Georgian nationals, but that the sides agreed to hold regular meetings to resolve the ongoing standoff.
During Russia's feud with Georgia, Moscow froze travel and postal links with the small Caucasus nation, expelled hundreds of Georgians working in the country, and recalled its diplomats and their families from Tbilisi, moves that Georgia called aggressive and disproportionate.
The Russian diplomat said, "On the whole we agreed to move forward in our cooperation and resolve current problems, which are overshadowing bilateral relations."
Kovalenko was appointed ambassador to Georgia in July 2006, had not even presented his credentials to the Georgian president when he was withdrawn from the country, at the start of the spying scandal.
Last week a Georgian Foreign Ministry spokesman said Tbilisi had received the go-ahead from Moscow through diplomatic channels for negotiations on restoring air links, which have been tentatively set for February 5-6.
