Georgia will compete in the 2014 Winter Olympics Russia is hosting, making another move to improvement in relations between the two countries that fought a five-day war in August 2008.

The decision was made by the Georgian National Olympic Committee on Thursday (May 2), which voted in favour of this decision unanimously.

The committee president said Georgia would send an official request on participation to the International Olympic Committee before May 7.

Russia and Georgia severed diplomatic ties due to the war, which followed years of tension over Moscow's support for two rebel regions and Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's drive to bring his nation into NATO, and trade all but dried up.

New Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, whose coalition beat Saakashvili's long-ruling party in October parliamentary election, says he wants to mend ties with Moscow while maintaining warm relations with the United States and Europe.

Among other issues he did not rule out that Georgia could compete in the Olympics in the Russian city of Sochi, while previous government