Medvedev welcomes initial Georgia vote results

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday welcome initial vote results in Georgia, pointing to a victory by the opposition as a sign of people wanting more "constructive" ties with Moscow. "If this result turns out being real, the political landscape in Georgia will become multi-faceted," news agencies quoted Russia's former president as saying some four years after the two sides fought a brief border war. "This can only be welcomed because it seems to mean that parliament is filling with more constructive and responsible forces," said the top ally of President Vladimir Putin. "The information coming in from Georgia shows that the people of this country want change." Medvedev added that his ruling United Russia party was "ready to conduct dialogue about the future of Russian-Georgian relations" with billionaire opposition leader Bidzina Ivanishvili's Georgian Dream group. The Russian premier had refused to speak to President Mikheil Saakashvili since the two sides' five-day war over rebel Georgian territories that now lie under Moscow's control. Ivanishvili on Tuesday called on Saakashvili to resign after he accepted defeat in Monday's parliamentary elections.