The Georgian and Ukrainian authorities after the collapse of the Soviet Union have shown incompetence in choosing between external management by the West and good relations with Russia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, RIA Novosti reported.

"The main reason is that the authorities of these countries have shown insolvency. They did this at a time when there was a desire to impose and eventually external control was imposed over them - for the sole purpose of tearing them away from Russia to take them into NATO's sphere of influence," Lavrov said when asked why Georgia and Ukraine failed to maintain good relations with Russia after the collapse of the USSR.