Unofficially, authorities of Georgia informed Russia about their standing a few days ago, once Russia and the United States sealed the bilateral agreement on WTO in Hanoi.
Photo: Dmitry Azarov
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Georgia to Hold Back Russia at Customs
Georgia announced it would agree to Russia’s entry into the WTO provided all illegal customs stations in Abkhazia and South Ossetia become legal. This statement of WTO member signals the threats of Georgia to block Russia’s route to WTO are official now.
Georgia is interested in Russia’s entry into the WTO, but the principal condition for sanctioning it is execution of agreements of 2004 in part of making legal the customs stations in Abkhazia’s and South Ossetia’s sections of Georgian-Russian border, Georgia’s Foreign Ministry and Economic Development Ministry said in the official statement Tuesday.
Russia’s joining the WTO would be suspended should the bilateral negotiations of Russia and Georgia remain uncompleted and should Georgia give no approval, the statement specified.
By legalizing the customs stations in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Georgia means basing its customs officers there.
This statement of Georgia sprang no surprise in Russia. Off-the-record, the authorities of Georgia made clear their standing to the Kremlin a few days ago, once Russia and the United States sealed the bilateral agreement on WTO in Hanoi.
In essence, the actions of Georgia copy the actions of Poland, which had easily blocked negotiations of Moscow and the European Union after the start of the trading war with Russia.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Nov. 22, 2006
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