Trade experts from Georgia and Russia will meet on Monday to determine the compatibility of Georgia's new free trade with the European Union with its existing free trade framework with the nations of the former Soviet Union.

The trade talks between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gregory Karasin and Zurab Abashidze, Georgia's representative for Russian relations, will precede the next round of direct talks between diplomats from Georgia and Russia, DFWatch.net reports.

Georgian Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze, following the signing of a so-called association agreement with the EU, recently announced that Georgia is interested in "intense" trade with EU members states as well as with the Commonwealth of Independent States.

"We must now sit down and see if something has changed after Georgia joined the new trade space," Panjikidze said, according to DFWatch.net. "This is an ordinary technical working meeting, which is very good."

Georgia retains free trade with the CIS countries despite leaving the organization following a 2008 war in protest of Russia's military actions.