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Georgia will continue developing relations with Belarus after quitting CIS, diplomat says

A Georgian diplomat has promised that his country will continue developing relations with Belarus after leaving the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a 12-nation alliance of former Soviet republics.

In an interview with BelaPAN, David Kotariya, Georgia’s deputy ambassador to Belarus, said, “We are developing our relations, their economic, cultural, humanitarian aspects.”

“Georgia and Belarus have already drafted up to 15 bilateral agreements. I think we will be gradually signing and implementing them. These accords deal with the avoidance of double taxation, free trade, visa-free travel and air traffic. As soon as our embassy opened in Minsk, we started active work to develop bilateral relations,” he noted.

President Mikhail Saakashvili announced earlier this week that Georgia would quit the CIS. The decision came as a response to Russia’s move to send troops to the Caucasian country and bomb its territory.