RUSSIAN WTO NEGOTIATOR TO COME TO TBILISI FOR

UNCLAS TBILISI 001171

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/CARC, EB/TPP/MTA AND EB/TPP/BTA
COMMERCE FOR 4231 DANICA STARKS
STATE PASS USTR FOR PAUL BURKHEAD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD KTIA USTR GG
SUBJECT: RUSSIAN WTO NEGOTIATOR TO COME TO TBILISI FOR
TALKS MAY 30-31

REF: A. 06 TBILISI 3265

B. 06 TBILISI 3047


1. (U) This telegram is Sensitive but Unclassified. Not for
Internet distribution.


2. (SBU) DCM met on May 16 with Valeri Chechelashvili,
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, who said that Russia has
approached Georgia to hold further discussions about the
Georgia-Russia bilateral agreement for Russia's accession to
the WTO. Although Russia suggested holding the talks in
Moscow, the GOG invited the Russians, as the candidate
country, to come to Tbilisi. The Georgians consider this
normal procedure in WTO accession negotiations. As a result,
Maxim Medvedkov, the lead Russian WTO negotiator, will come
to Tbilisi on May 30-31 to meet with Georgian negotiators,
including Deputy Minister of Economic Development Tamara
Kovsiridze. The last discussions between Georgia and Russia
on WTO accession were in Geneva in January. To our
knowledge, the meeting would be the first relatively
high-level visit by a Russian government official to Tbilisi
since the October 2006 arrest and expulsion of Russian GRU
spies.


3. (SBU) Georgia reopened its bilateral agreement with
Russia last year, citing Russia's maintaining of border
crossings into Abkhazia and South Ossetia that the GOG deems
to be illegal, in that they are not authorized or staffed by
the Georgian government. Chechelashvili confirmed that
Georgia's position has not changed and the border crossing
issue is the only one preventing finalizing a bilateral
agreement. He repeated the GOG suggestion that EU-monitored
border crossings in Transdnistria could serve as a model to
resolve the Georgia-Russia impasse.


4. (SBU) Comment: Georgia shows every intention of sticking
by its guns on the border crossing issue. This is Georgia's
only point of leverage in the strained bilateral relations
with its giant northern neighbor, and the Georgians are
determined to use it to establish some control over the
unregulated, illegal trafficking of goods, HEU, counterfeit
U.S. dollars, persons and weapons that is thought to take
place through the conflict regions of Abkhazia and South
Ossetia. Any solution acceptable to Georgia will be a tough
sell to the Abkhaz and South Ossetians, who are supported by
Russia. So far, Georgia is keeping the issue in WTO channels
and avoiding politicizing the issue. We understand that
Russia still has more than one bilateral negotiation and
complex multilateral discussions to complete before the
Georgian objections are the only remaining hurdle to its
accession.

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