"We don't dictate to Georgian politicians what they should do, and when or how," Sergei Lavrov said after a meeting in Moscow with Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey.
However, Lavrov said Russia's current priority in Georgia is not to allow provocations in the country's conflict zones. "We will do everything possible to prevent this," he said.
On Wednesday night Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili declared a nationwide state of emergency following six days of mass protest rallies by the opposition.
Lavrov said he hoped Georgia would only rely on political means to achieve a settlement to the crisis.
"Today, the Georgian foreign minister said that the country will use political methods to resolve the conflicts. I very much hope that he was speaking on behalf of Georgia's whole leadership," he said.
In a bid to ease the Caucasus state's worst political crisis since Saakashvili came to power four years ago, the president promised on Thursday to quickly lift a state of emergency, which triggered sharp criticism from the West and Russia.
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer warned that Georgia's aspirations to join the Euro-Atlantic security alliance could be at risk.
The opposition shares Saakashvili's drive to integrate the ex-Soviet state with Western organizations, reducing Russian influence, but has accused the president of becoming too authoritarian and of failing to make headway on economic reforms.
Saakashvili accused Moscow of orchestrating the unrest and expelled three Russian diplomats. Russia dismissed the accusations and responded by expelling three Georgian diplomats.
