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Georgia-RF accord on Russia’s joining WTO to be signed next week

The talks between Georgia and Russia have been virtually completed; the two sides agreed with a Swiss-sponsored compromise version of documents

TBILISI, November 5 (Itar-Tass) — An agreement between Georgia and Russia on Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) “will be officially signed next week”, said on Saturday the head of the Georgian delegation at the bilateral talks and Deputy Foreign Minister Sergi Kapanadze, now on a visit to Geneva.

“The talks between Georgia and Russia have been virtually completed; the two sides agreed with a Swiss-sponsored compromise version of documents, and no changes have been added to it,” he said in an interview with Georgian Public Television. “The agreement will be officially signed the next week and will start operating on a day of Russia’s accession to the WTO.”

“Participants in the talks will initial the text of the document on Saturday during the day, which means that the text of the document will not be changed,” added Kapanadze.

He also noted that the Swiss side would “single out a private company next week and would determine a mandate for it, in compliance with which this company would start monitoring trade corridors between Georgia and Russia”. “This is mostly a technical question, since the main elements of the mandate were already put down in the text of the agreement and, consequently, nothing should be changed,” the diplomat said.

Monitoring of trade corridors between Georgia and Russia will be made under Switzerland’s aegis.