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Medvedev signs law ratifying Russia-Abkhazia agreement

The Agreement was worked out to implement the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between Russia and Abkhazia of September 17, 2008

MOSCOW, November 20 (Itar-Tass) — President Dmitry Medvedev signed the federal law on “ratification of an Agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Abkhazia on cooperation and mutual aid in customs affairs”, adopted by the State Duma on November 2, 2011 and approved by the Federation Council upper chamber on November 9, 2011, the presidential press service reported on Sunday.

The federal law provides for ratification of the Agreement between Russia and Abkhazia on cooperation and mutual aid in customs affairs, signed in Sukhumi on October 16, 2010.

The Agreement was worked out to implement the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between Russia and Abkhazia of September 17, 2008.

The Agreement is aimed to consolidate cooperation in customs affairs and struggle against customs law-breaking, to ease passenger and freight traffic between Russia and Abkhazia, to ensure correct levying customs payments and to observe bans (established in compliance with legislation of the Parties) and restrictions on goods passing across the customs border of the two states.

To implement functions, vested with the customs services of the two states as well as to improve customs operations with respect to definite types of goods, Article 5 of the Agreement provides for setting up special customs bodies in compliance with mutual understanding of the sides in the territories of the states: Russian – in the territory of Abkhazia and Abkhazian – in the territory of Russia.

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