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WTO Russia Working Group Ends
Georgian representatives made a serious attempt for the first time yesterday to block the negotiation process at an informal session of the working group on Russia in the WTO. Georgia is insisting that Russia not only allow Georgian customs officers access to checkpoints on the border with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, it turned out late in the day that Georgia also wants Russian President Vladimir Putin's instructions on establishing direct economic ties with those regions cancelled.
A decision was about to be made yesterday on the fourth edition of the report on Russia's trade policy as the basis for the speedy resolution of the disputed issues remaining. Only Georgia disagreed. Its delegation demanded that the remaining questions on agriculture, export duties and state corporations be resolved and that a decision on a new edition of the report be made at an official session of the working group. Georgia is blocking official meetings of the group; that is why the session was informal in nature.
The chairman of the group, Icelandic Ambassador Stefan Johannesson, that they were examining a technical question that does not require general agreement. The Georgians countered that it was a procedural question that any member of the WTO has the right to veto. A source in the WTO secretariat called the Georgian move senseless and politically motivated. (WTO staff are not authorized to giver interviews, so they speak only on condition of anonymity.)
The Russian delegation thought the report was blocked until late in the day. In the evening, the Georgian delegation yielded and the report was adopted. The working group will meet again at the end of May to discuss the issues mentioned in the report substantively. Reuters reported that Georgian Deputy Economic Development Minister Vakhtang Lezhava stated that Georgia is demanding that Russia not enter into direct economic ties with Abkhazia and South Ossetia. A source in the Russia delegation told Kommersant that they were satisfied with the outcome of the session. Ukraine will also join the working group in May.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Apr. 29, 2008
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