According to the Head of the International Affairs Committee of the Council of the Russian Federation, Grigory Karasin, he discussed the so-called “referendum” planned in Tskhinvali region with Georgian colleagues.

“We talked about it briefly. This is one of the issues that worries our Georgian partners, we are watching it closely”, - said Karasin.

Zurab Abashidze, the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Relations with Russia, also confirms the conversation with Karasin.

“During our conversation, Mr. Karasin made a brief comment on the so-called referendum planned in the Tskhinvali region. He noted that Moscow is aware of our negative attitude and they do not ignore it. He also said that Moscow was not involved in any activities related to the “referendum”.

As you know, a similar comment was made a few days ago by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. As for the next meeting in the Prague format, it is not on the agenda and we believe that now it is not the right time for it”, - added Abashidze.