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Georgian Minister in Moscow to Mend Fences
Georgian Minister for Conflict Resolution Merab Antadze came to Moscow Thursday to meet his Russian counterparts and try to mend fences with the country. A few days before the minister’s visit, Georgia dropped all claims against Russia’s accession to the WTO. Russia and Georgia have also scheduled bilateral talks to resume flights between the two countries. Yet, not all Georgian leaders are willing to make it up with Russia.
Merab Antadze is the first Georgian high-ranking official to visit Russia in the last four months after Russian-Georgian relations soured last September. The minister is to hold talks with the Russian foreign ministry on Friday to discuss conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia as well as relations with Russia. The talks will be held one week after Russia sent its ambassador back to Tbilisi, a move which was largely viewed as a sign for easing tensions between the two countries.
Meanwhile, the Georgian delegation lifted almost all claims against Russia at bilateral talks in Geneva on Russia’s bid to enter the WTO. The only issue left on the agenda is the work of check points at Russia’s border with Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
In response, the Russian foreign ministry has agreed to hold talks to resume flights between the two countries in February, which Georgia has long been asking for. There have not been any flights between Russia and Georgia since October 2, 2006. What is more, Russia’s chief sanitary official, Gennady Onishchenko, has said recently that the ban on Georgian wine may soon be lifted.
Georgia seems to be ready to make it up with Russia. Still, not everyone in Tbilisi seems to be willing to do so. As if timing to Minister Antadze’s Moscow visit, the Georgian Interior Minister announced the arrest of a Russian smuggler with uranium last year. “The fact that this kind of information has appeared now, long after the incident and with distortions, does not quite fall in line with steps to improve Russian-Georgian relations,” a source in the Kremlin told the Interfax news agency on Thursday.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Jan. 26, 2007
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