Russia and Georgia will continue to discuss Russia’s accession to WTO

Russian-Georgian talks on the accession of Russia to the World Trade Organization (WTO) will continue, presumably in April, the spokesman for the Georgian Prime Minister, Nikoloz Mchedlishvili, told journalists, News Georgia reports.

Negotiations between Russia and Georgia on this issue were renewed this week after a break of several years. "Talks were held in Bern yesterday. The parties agreed that the next meeting will probably be held in April, though the exact time and place of the meeting is not yet known," Mchedlishvili said.

Earlier, Tbilisi said that Georgia would not agree to Russia joining the WTO at the expense of Georgia's interests. The main condition for Russia's accession to the WTO from the Georgian side is the establishment of Georgian control over the customs checkpoints on the Abkhaz and South Ossetian sections of the border.