Russian upper house lawmaker Grigory Karasin, representing the country at talks with Georgia, told Sputnik on Thursday that he is ready to discuss Russian experts' visit to the Lugar biological research center with Zurab Abashidze, Georgia's representative for relations with Russia
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th May, 2020) Russian upper house lawmaker Grigory Karasin, representing the country at talks with Georgia, told Sputnik on Thursday that he is ready to discuss Russian experts' visit to the Lugar biological research center with Zurab Abashidze, Georgia's representative for relations with Russia.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday it was ready to host Russian experts, but only as part of a wider delegation within the convention on the prohibition of biological weapons. After that, Moscow, which has long been expressing concern that the facility could be used by the United States to research dangerous infectious diseases close to the Russian border, insisted that this should be a bilateral visit.
"We have not yet received an address from Abashidze, but negotiations on the matter are underway for over a month. I am ready for talks, it would be interesting to understand how the Georgian side sees issues related to our experts' visit to the Lugar laboratory," Karasin said.
This is important for Russia, as the country sees the matter as related to its national security, the lawmaker explained.
Karasin went on to say that he was discussing Moscow-Tbilisi relations with Abashidze informally, and the countries' Foreign Ministries were exchanging official letter.
