Georgian president expects start of free-trade talks with EU

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili on Wednesday expressed hope for kicking off free-trade negotiations with the European Union as soon as possible. "We are getting closer to launching negotiations with the EU on deep and comprehensive free-trade agreement," said the president at a joint press conference with visiting EU high representative for foreign policy and security matters Catherine Ashton after a meeting here. "This is very important for Georgia's economy. We know what economic problems Europe is facing, but at the same time, access to EU market for Georgian products is a decisive step for Georgia' s further economic growth and welfare of our people," Saakashvili said. Ashton said that the South Caucasus country had made much progress toward launching free trade talks with the EU. "You are quite right and the expectation we have is that we will be able to move forward very quickly in the next few weeks and by Christmas to be able to show that progress, which, I know, you have worked so hard for," Ashton said. The Georgian president described the completion of free-trade talks with the EU as one of the major points of his government's modernization program which sets 2015 as the deadline for meeting the program targets. Saakashvili said that Georgia had achieved a huge progress in the direction of the EU since the launch of the association agreement talks with the 27-member bloc in July of last year. Ashton arrived in Tbilisi after her visit to Baku, Azerbaijan. Apart from meeting the Georgian president and Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze, the EU foreign policy chief is also scheduled to meet the chief of EUMM (EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia) which has been monitoring the cease-fire after the August 2008 conflict between Georgia and Russia in South Ossetia. "The main aim of my visit is to show the commitment of the European Union to the South Caucasus," said Ashton before leaving for the region. "Over the last year, in the context of the renewed European Neighborhood Policy and Eastern Partnership, we have engaged in a process of significant strengthening of our relations with Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, including through negotiations of association agreements." Vashadze said Wednesday that the talks on the EU-Georgia Association Agreement had entered a decisive phase. "The negotiations on deep and free-trade agreement will definitely open before the end of this year," the foreign minister told local media. Ashton is also scheduled to travel to Yerevan of Armenia before visiting Moscow later this week.