Russo-Georgian Negotiations In Tbilisi

On Friday Tbilisi will launch negotiations on drafting a framework agreement on friendship and cooperation between Russia and Georgia. Russia's state commission headed by Boris Pastukhov has arrived in the Georgian capital to attend the negotiations. The commission includes 10 people, including officials from a number of ministries. On Friday morning the Georgian Foreign Ministry will host a meeting between Boris Pastukhov and Georgian Foreign Minister Irakly Menagarishvili in charge of the Georgian state commission on drafting of the treaty. Later today the delegations will launch negotiations. Then Boris Pastukhov will visit the Georgian parliament to have meetings with Speaker Nino Burdzhanadze and Vakhtang Rcheulishvili, Vice-Speaker of the parliament and leader of the Socialist party of Georgia, the Georgian Foreign Ministry reported. In the course of a bilateral meeting in Moscow on November 30, 2001, which was held as part of the CIS jubilee summit, Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Eduard Shevardnadze of Georgia agreed to speed up the drafting of the framework agreement.