Georgian wine and mineral water set to be back to Russian market: Ivanishvili

YEREVAN, February 5. / ARKA /. Former Georgian authorities artificially limited exports of Georgian  products to the Russian market, but now it is opening up for us and soon our wines and mineral water  will begin flowing back to Russia, Georgian prime minister, Bidzina Ivanishvili, told a news conference in Tbilisi, RBC reported.

"At first stage we will resume exports of wines and water, then vegetables and fruits. The talks to this end are in full swing and I think they will end successfully ", he said.

After coming to power in the autumn of 2012 Ivanishvili appointed Zurab Abashidze as a special representative for the normalization of relations with Russia, who had already  meeting with a deputy Russian foreign minister Grigory Karasin.

“The signals from Russia, in terms of restoring relations are very positive. According to my analysis, we have the opportunity to normalize relations with our big neighbor. This will not happen quickly, but we'll make it. We will spare no effort for this,” he stressed.

However, the country's foreign policy remains unchanged, the prime minister said.  "Our foreign policy course is integration with the European and Euro-Atlantic association. We have not made a single step back, and the criticism of our opponents is completely incomprehensible," Ivanishvili said.

Speaking on resumption of export of wines to Russia he said Georgian specialists will strictly control the quality of the wine to be sold to Russia.  

"The Russian market will not be as simple as before.  Wine producers should be serious about it, they will have a lot of competitors there. We should only send  high-quality organic products," he said.

He said Georgian experts will control the quality of products not only in the country but also in the Russian market, so that fake products are not sold there as Georgian. 

According to Georgian prime minister, Russian business is interested in coming back to Georgian market. He found this out  during his meetings with Russian businessmen at  Davos economic forum. Ivanishvili urged also Georgian businessmen working in Russia to invest in their homeland.

According to preliminary information, the export of Georgian wine, discontinued by the Russian embargo in 2006, will resume in full by autumn. -0-