Georgia's foreign minister renounced his Russian citizenship Wednesday, formally cutting ties with Moscow that were formed in the Soviet era.

Grigol Vashadze, 51, an ethnic Georgian and veteran diplomat, graduated in 1981 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.

A Russian parliament member recently called for stripping Vashadze of his citizenship. Parliament refused to act on the grounds that under Russian law citizens cannot be deprived of their citizenship.

Vashadze said his decision would make it easier for Russia. He sent his Russian passport and a letter renouncing his citizenship to Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev, Vashadze told journalists before Wednesday's government meeting.

His wife, famous ballerina and former Bolshoi Theater star Nino Ananiashvili, remains a Russian citizen. She is currently the artistic director of the ballet in Tbilisi, Georgia's capital.