Trend European Desk Commentator Elmira Tariverdiyeva
The negotiations on Russia's accession to the WTO are held between the Georgian and Russian sides in Bern, Switzerland March 9. Russia's accession to the WTO is complicated by several factors, one of which is Georgian one. New members must be admitted to the WTO unanimously. All parties must express their consent. If Georgia, a member of the WTO, will not give consent for Russia's joining the WTO, it will block Moscow's opportunity to join the WTO for a long time.
Georgia has already stated about its willingness for a dialogue with Russia on this issue. However, Russia is unlikely to be pleased with the sphere of discussions with Georgia. The issues of mutual trade, having disagreement between Moscow and Tbilisi, are regulated by the WTO.
Georgia's position remains unchanged for several years. The Georgian side insists that Georgian customs officers must be present at customs checkpoints between Russia and Abkhazia, Russia and South Ossetia, which de jure are the Georgian territories. Tbilisi claims that trade between Russia and Georgia, where goods move through South Ossetia and Abkhazia, is impossible, as no borders between the separatist regions and Russia exist for Georgia.
Russia's position fundamentally differs from Georgian one. Recognizing the independence of separatist regions of Georgia, Moscow can not unilaterally allow Georgian customs officers to control. The alternative - to recognize the incompleteness of the sovereignty of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in customs issues is unacceptable to Moscow.
The parties have a real opportunity to find a compromise in this difficult situation. This primarily concerns the possibility of lifting the Russian embargo imposed by Moscow after the war in Georgia in the summer of 2008. Georgia has significantly affected from the loss of the Russian market. A ban on the import of wine, water, fruit from Georgia was a painful blow for the country. Today, for the sake of mitigating the position of Georgia on the WTO, Russia could lift a ban on imports of Georgian goods and restore trade, which can exist without diplomatic relations.
Will Russia make such a gesture? Unlikely. First, besides Georgia, Russia has a lot of problems that hinder the country's entry into the WTO.
First of all, Russia has unresolved issues due to the WTO relating to the maximum permitted amount of agricultural support from the state, the issues of determining meat quotas on imports of beef, pork and poultry meat to Russia.
Moreover, violations of intellectual property rights, as well as remaining Jackson-Vanik amendment also prevent the early entry of Russia into the WTO.
Russia is not obliged to hurry to negotiate with Georgia in such a situation. Taking into account that Moscow hopes that the West, which advocates for Russia's accession to the WTO, should solve the problems with Georgia itself.
The issue of Russia's membership is important for world trade. Moscow hopes that the U.S. and Europe will be able to persuade Georgia to hand over the positions. Russia is the only major economy in the world that is not bound with restrictions that the WTO imposes on import duties, and not involved in the total legal system to resolve trade disputes. In such a situation its entry into the organization is advantageous for the West.
The negotiations with U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden, who has recently arrived in Moscow, will focus on the issues of preventing Georgia's resistance Russia's accession to the WTO. Moscow hopes that Washington will persuade Tbilisi to withdraw its current objections. The U.S side has signals of readiness to contribute. It is associated with Moscow's position towards Libya, Kommersant reported, citing a source in the Kremlin.
Russia has supported the UN sanctions initiated by the West against the Libyan leadership, but also condemned war crimes continuing in Libya against the civilian population.
In an extreme case, Russia will have another opportunity for joining the WTO. Moscow may insist that its accession to the organization was not approved by consensus of interested parties but by a majority of votes. This possibility is not ruled out by WTO rules, but it was never implemented. In this scenario, the Russian side will have to persuade members of the organization to ignore the rules of the multilateral negotiations and create a precedent. However, in this case, it will be difficult to hope for early accession of Russia to WTO.
Of course, Russia will benefit from joining the World Trade Organization, by receiving the right to influence the rules of international trade, to protect export and domestic producers on foreign markets.
However, it is a big question whether the current administration can influence the position of Georgia's joining the WTO and whether Russia will agree to reasonable compromises with Tbilisi for the sake of joining the organization.