EU Foreign Policy Chief Visits Georgia

EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, arrived in Tbilisi on November 16 as part of her trip to South Caucasus states.

During the visit she will hold talks with President Saakashvili and Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze; she will also meet the Head of the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM) Andrzej Tyszkiewicz.

“The main aim of my visit is to show the commitment of the European Union to the South Caucasus," Ashton said ahead of her South Caucasus trip. "Over the last year – in the context of the renewed European Neighbourhood 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. We are very keen to see the three countries progress with the necessary reforms, with European values as the guiding light. We also want to see steps forward in the resolution of conflicts.”

President Saakashvili said on November 15, that he would raise the need of launch of talks with EU on deep and comprehensive free trade agreement when he meets Ashton in Tbilisi.

Georgian Foreign Minister, Grigol Vashadze, said on November 16, that talks on EU-Georgia Association Agreement “enter a decisive phase.”

“The negotiations on deep and free trade agreement will definitely open before the end of this year,” he told Rustavi 2 TV and added that launch of talks on visa liberalization would launch “in the nearest future.”

“So, this visit will sum up the results, on the one hand, and on the other, it will mark the launch of a new stage in our relationships,” Vashadze said.

Ashton arrived in Tbilisi from Baku and will then visit Yerevan, before heading for Moscow, where EU-Russia Permanent Partnership Council will be held on November 17-18.

It is Ashton’s second visit to Georgia; she visited the country last July to open EU-Georgia Association Agreement talks.