Georgia Holds Up Russian WTO Entry

A second round of talks is due to be held in April between Russia and Georgia, mediated by Switzerland, concerning Russia's entry to the World Trade Organisation. Harsh words have been exchanged between representatives of the two countries in the aftermath of the first round on March 10.

Russia began negotiations with the WTO in 1995, and its proposals for entry have support from the EU, Canada, the US, China and Japan. One substantial stumbling point, however, has been the tense relationship between Russia and its neighbouring state Georgia, which is already a member. The political and military history between the two countries is well known, and Georgia's right to enforce duties and monitor commodity movements between Russia and the Georgian breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia has created considerable animosity. Russia says Georgia's insistence upon these rights has nothing to do with WTO issues, but is instead politically motivated.

A spokesman for Russia's Foreign Ministry, Alexander Lukashevich, told reporters on March 10 that Russia "stressed the impermissibility of [the] politicization of this issue, and the attempts of Georgian officials to debate elements unrelated to WTO membership conditions." Three days later, the Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that he believes it is possible for Russia to enter the WTO, even in the face of a Georgian veto. This comment sparked anger from Georgia's Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze, who said that Lavrov had violated the agreement reached on March 10 to maintain a silence on the subject with the media. However, in a calmer statement from Georgia, the Deputy Foreign Minister Nino Kalandadze said at a news conference on March 14 that the country was "in no way" mixing political issues with trade, but rather the "principle position [was] to secure the interests of Georgia." Indeed, Kalandadze went on to say that there were "attempts from the both sides to draw the positions closer."

Russia remains the last major economy outside the WTO. The WTO Agreement states that decisions must be approved by a two-thirds majority of members (currently at 153), but elsewhere in the Agreement, it is stated that the Organisation's practice is to arrive at decisions by consensus, and that a vote is only taken when it is impossible to reach a consensus. A 1995 Council vote decided that consensus should take precedence over vote based decision making.

Source: tax-news.com