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Istanbul hosts next round of Georgian-Russian expert talks

International Centre for Research on Conflict and Negotiation held in Istanbul the next round of Russian-Georgian negotiations. 11 experts from Georgia and Russia came together for the tenth round of negotiations.

 

The basis of these meetings was founded after the 2008 war, the center told Trend on Friday.

The sides to talks are representatives of civil society and non-governmental organizations that discussed the legal perspectives of the Georgian-Russian relations and the role of civil society in this process.

 

The head of the Georgian delegation, director of the Center on Conflict and Negotiation Georgi Khucishvili noted that, despite the tensions, following the 2012 parliamentary elections the new government of Georgia has chosen a clear course for the establishment of relations with Russia and made the first steps in this direction.

 

> Map Of Georgia

  

The participants developed recommendations, which cover both general matters and technical steps for future action. In particular, it was noted that non-governmental organizations of Georgia and Russia are focused on finding ways to improve the dialogue between the two countries. Simplification of the visa regime, the return of Georgian wine, mineral water and agricultural products to the Russian market, the development of bilateral tourism and transport infrastructure, cooperation in the field of health care and the organization of business forums and exchange of information to combat terrorism, the deepening of historical and spiritual ties, organization of joint festivals, restoring Russian schools in Georgia, development of student exchange programs, media cooperation and creation of "the infrastructure of the world" were called among such steps.

 

The parties agreed on coordinated actions to facilitate the implementation of the recommendations and deepen cooperation between the two countries.

 

The Istanbul process is carried out with the assistance of the Global Partner Network Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) and financial support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium.

 

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08.07.2013