EU launches talks with Georgia on association pact

(BATUMI) - The European Union boosted Georgia's hopes of building closer ties with the West Thursday by launching talks on an association pact that would strengthen relations with the ex-Soviet republic.

EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said at a joint press conference with President Mikheil Saakashvili that the eventual association agreement will "build a foundation to bring Georgia closer to the European Union."

"The agreement will provide the framework for a new relationship," she said in the Georgian Black Sea city of Batumi.

"I strongly believe that by strengthening the relationship between Georgia and the European Union we can contribute to Georgia's democratic development, its long-term stability (and) prosperity," she said.

"It's good for you and it's good for us. Stability and prosperity here enhances stability and prosperity in the European Union," she added.

Saakashvili hailed the launch of talks as a key step forward in the country's efforts to forge closer ties with the West.

"Georgia is Europe, Georgia is coming back to Europe," Saakashvili said. "The goal of our reforms is to create the first European state in the Caucasus."

Association agreements are treaties between the bloc and non-EU countries that create a framework for cooperation on political and economic issues. Ashton said negotiations on agreements usually take from one to four years.

Georgia's foreign ministry said in a statement that the agreement "will give Georgia the possibility of political association and phased economic integration with the European Union."

The ministry also said Ashton's visit "reaffirms the European Union's support for Georgia."

Ashton's office said in a statement that talks on association agreements will also be launched with Georgia's neighbours Azerbaijan on Friday and Armenia on Monday. Similar talks are already taking place with Ukraine and Moldova.

But the launch of the talks, with Ashton in attendance, is of special importance to Georgia, which more than any other country in the region has sought closer ties with the West.

The talks will also give a boost to Saakashvili, who is keen to rebuild his reputation as a democratic and economic reformer after it was damaged by the country's 2008 war with Russia and a 2007 crackdown on opposition supporters.

Saakashvili's critics claim the president has been increasingly isolated since the war, but Tbilisi has played host to a slew of Western diplomats in recent weeks, including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earlier this month and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner on Thursday.

Kouchner reaffirmed France's support for Georgia's territorial integrity, which was challenged after the war by Russia's recognition of the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states, and called for Russia to pull its troops back to pre-war positions.

"Russian troops should withdraw to positions held prior to the conflict and this has not been done and we are continuing to pursue this effort," Kouchner said at a joint press conference with Saakashvili in Tbilisi.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy negotiated the ceasefire agreement that brought an end to the war, which saw Russian troops pour into Georgia to repel a Georgian military assault on Moscow-backed South Ossetia.

Georgia has accused Russia of violating the August 2008 ceasefire agreement by deploying thousands of troops in both rebel regions since the war, including in areas that were previously under Georgian control.