Georgia's FM renounces Russian citizenship

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Georgia's foreign minister has renounced his Russian citizenship.

Grigol Vashadze is an ethnic Georgian and veteran diplomat, whose close ties to Moscow were formed in the Soviet era. He graduated from a prestigious Moscow university and served in the Soviet Foreign Ministry before the Soviet Union's collapse.

His appointment as Georgia's foreign minister in December 2008 was seen as an attempt to reach out to Russia following the war the previous August.

Relations between the two former Soviet republics remain deeply strained, however, and a Russian parliament member had called for stripping Vashadze of his citizenship.

Vashadze said Wednesday that he has sent his Russian passport and a letter renouncing his citizenship to Russia's president.