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Georgian president calls initialing of agreement with EU historic step

Technical initialing of an association agreement between Georgia and the EU was held in Vilnius on Thursday

© EPA/DUMITRU DORU

VILNIUS, November 29, 12:41 /ITAR-TASS/. Georgia is currently “taking a historic step sought by many generations,” the country’s President Georgy Margelashvili told Georgian reporters in Vilnius on Friday, commenting on the initialing of an association agreement between Georgia and the EU. “More than one generation of our compatriots were struggling for this step throughout their lives,” he said.

Technical initialing of an association agreement between Georgia and the EU was held in Vilnius on Thursday. The document was signed from the Georgian side by First Deputy Foreign Minister David Zalkiani, who over the past three years has headed the country’s delegation at negotiations with the EU. On Friday, Georgian Foreign Minister Maia Pandjikidze and EU High Representative for Foreign Affair and Security Policy Catherine Ashton will formalize in Vilnius a symbolical act on initialing a Georgia-EU association agreement. As for the signing of the agreement, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Fule stated in Vilnius on Thursday that this would happen “supposedly, in the second half of 2014.

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