TBILISI, July 24 (Xinhua) -- President Mikhail Saakashvili on Friday welcomed an advisory from Belarus for its citizens to enter Georgia's two breakaway regions via Georgia rather than through Russia.
Saakashvili hailed the decision as "bold" during a meeting with the ruling party's parliamentarians, Georgia's Kavkaz Press reported.
"Look at what is happening in the post-Soviet area ... I cannot but welcome the actions by the Belarussian leader, who has decided to rule out such violations of Georgian laws. This is a very bold decision by the Belarussian president," Saakashvili said.
The Belarussian Foreign Ministry on Thursday called on its citizens to abide by Georgian laws when planning trips to Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Georgia stipulates that foreign citizens, without special permission, can only enter the two regions from specific directions.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin called the Belarussian advisory "illogical," "incomprehensible" and at odds with the official line, according to Russia's RIA Novosti news agency.
Georgia and Russia fought a five-day war last August, when Georgia attacked South Ossetia to retake the breakaway region that borders Russia. In response, Moscow sent in troops to drive Georgian forces out of the region.
Russia recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states two weeks after the conflict ended.
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