The imminent conclusion of the EU-Georgia association agreement does not disagree with economic collaboration between Georgia and Russia, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said.
Steinmeier said at a joint briefing with the French and Georgian
foreign ministers in Tbilisi on Thursday that Russia must be well aware
of the fact that the association deal would not challenge its economic
contacts with Georgia.
The association agreement is not targeted against a third party,
Steinmeier emphasized in his answer to the media question how the EU
expected to convince Russia that the rapprochement with Georgia, Moldova
and Ukraine did not create any danger.
Steinmeier said he had tried to give a definite answer and repeated
that the association agreement pending in late June would not be aimed
against anyone. He said he had defined his position clearly and in
detail in his contacts with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The economic relations Georgia and the European Union have been
deepening do not cast doubt on the economic relations between Georgia
and Russia, the German foreign minister stated.
