Moscow and Minsk have no plans to “dump” the decade-old project to create the Union State of Russia and Belarus, leaders of the two states said on Friday. Russia and Belarus signed a deal to establish the Union state on December 8, 1999. Dmitry Medvedev and Alexander Lukashenko met on Friday for a meeting of [...]
Tag: abkhazia and south ossetia
November 25, 2011
November 20, 2011
Medvedev ratifies customs accords with Abkhazia, South Ossetia
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed laws on ratifying customs cooperation agreements with the former Georgian republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the Kremlin press office reported on Sunday. The laws were adopted by the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, on November 2, and approved by the Federation Council, the upper [...]
November 9, 2011
Russia, Georgia sign WTO accession deal
Russia and Georgia on Wednesday signed a Swiss-brokered agreement that clears the way to Moscow’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). The deal provides in particular for the deployment of international observers to monitor the movement of goods across sections of the borders of the former Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Russia [...]
November 9, 2011
Russia ‘too big’ to stay outside WTO
Russia, the world’s sixth largest economy, will inevitably join the World Trade Organization (WTO), President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday. “The sixth largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity and a country as big as Russia can not be outside the WTO,” Medvedev said at a meeting with Germany leaders in Berlin. Russia has [...]
November 8, 2011
Abkhazia, South Ossetia Alarmed By Russia-Georgia WTO Compromise
The de facto authorities in the breakaway Georgian republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia have expressed concern and outrage over the implications of the Swiss-mediated compromise between Georgia and Russia that paves the way for Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Whether they can thwart the signing and implementation of that agreement is [...]
November 6, 2011
U.S. Welcomes Russia-Georgia Agreement To Monitor Trade
The United States has welcomed an agreement reached by Russia and Georgia to monitor trade, paving the way for Russian membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO). In a statement, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said: “The United States applauds the announcement that the governments of Russia and Georgia have come to agreement on an [...]
November 6, 2011
U.S. Department of State welcomes agreement between Russia, Georgia on WTO
The United States is satisfied with the agreement reached between the governments of Russia and Georgia on Russia’s admission to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on Saturday. Russia has endeavored to join the WTO since 1993. The last remaining obstacle to its admission is Georgia, which has [...]
November 5, 2011
Russia ready for compromise on WTO accession
Moscow is ready to accept the compromise on WTO accession proposed by Switzerland, which is mediating talks between Russia and Georgia, the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday. Russia has endeavored to join the WTO since 1993 and needs to reach individual agreements with all 153 members of the WTO. The last remaining obstacle [...]
November 1, 2011
Tbilisi waits for response from Moscow to latest WTO proposals
Tbilisi has agreed on a compromise proposal from Switzerland on the issue of Russia’s entry to the World Trade Organization and is waiting for a response from Moscow, the Georgian president’s spokeswoman, Manana Manjgaladze, said on Tuesday. The Swiss proposal involves an international monitoring of goods crossing the borders of Abkhazia and South Ossetia with [...]
November 1, 2011
October 31, 2011
Russia could join WTO by December
Russia could be a member of the World Trade Organization by mid-December, declared presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich. “If everything goes as planned, the working group will meet on November 11,” Dvorkovich said. “If the group approves the bid, Russia will join the WTO on December 15, at the ministerial conference. The next step then, of [...]
October 31, 2011
Georgian, Swiss presidents to discuss Russia’s WTO membership
Georgia’s conditions for Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) will be revealed after a meeting between the presidents of Georgia and Switzerland on Monday, the Georgian foreign minister said. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili will meet with his Swiss counterpart Micheline Calmy-Rey on Monday afternoon in the Georgian port of Batumi. Russia has been [...]
October 30, 2011
Russia-Georgia Deal Could End WTO Impasse
Mediators in Moscow’s effort to persuade Georgia to withdraw its objection to World Trade Organization (WTO) membership for Russia have signaled a possible deal to end 18 years of frustration for the world’s biggest energy producer. Swiss mediators left a hastily arranged meeting at Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s residence near Moscow for Tbilisi, where they [...]
October 30, 2011
Russia hopes to finish WTO talks by yearend
Russia hopes to finish talks on gaining membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO) by the end of the year, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday. Medvedev, who is accepting in Moscow Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey, said that apart from the Russian-Swiss relations he would discuss “a situation about Russia’s accession to the WTO” [...]