23:10, 3 April 2007

Georgia insists on closing Russian check points in Abkhazia and South Ossetia

"Georgia has its position of principle in relation to Russia's joining the WTO, and it assumes legitimization of frontier-customs points and closure of illegal check points in the separatists' sections of Georgian-Russian border," Giorgi Arveladze, Minister of Economy of Georgia, has stated at a briefing upon termination of the sitting of Georgian government.

Mr. Arveladze has emphasized that Russia should become a WTO member sooner or later. "We also want it, but Russia should fulfil its earlier obligations, since it all the same will need our permit, otherwise its accession to the WTO can last for many years," he noted.

One of these days, the Russian party has disseminated a statement that Georgia's position in no way can affect Russia's accession to the WTO.

Minister Arveladze has stressed in his talk to the correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot" that all the Georgia's demands are clearly economic, not political.

Author: Alena Aleschenko, CK correspondent