Russia hopes Georgian election will help normalise relations

MOSCOW - Reuters

Georgia's triumphant billionaire opposition leader Bidzina Ivanishvili speaks during a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Tbilisi, on October 2, 2012. AFP photo

Russia's Foreign Ministry hopes Monday's parliamentary election in Georgia, won by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili's Georgian Dream coalition, will help normalise the country's relations with neighbours, it said in a statement on Wednesday.
 
"It is obvious that Georgian society has voted for changes. We hope in the end they will allow Georgia to start the normalisation, establishment of constructive and respectful relations with neighbours," Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in the statement.
 
"Such development would be welcomed in Russia," he added.