ARMENIAN, GEORGIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS DISCUSS SETTLEMENT POSSIBILITIES
OF REGIONAL CONFLICTS

YEREVAN, July 21 (Noyan Tapan). Georgian Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Ms. Salome Zurabishvili, who is in Armenia on an official visit, and
her Armenian counterpart Vardan Oskanin met on July 21 to discuss key
problems related to the regional prospects and Armenian-Gerogian
bilateral relations. The Armenian foreign minister espressed
confidence that S. Zuabishvili’s visit and high-level meetings will
give a new context to Armenian-Georgian agenda issues. The two sides
outlined their approaches to the European prospect and pointed out the
existing potential of mutually advantageous cooperation in deepening
partnership with the European and Euroatlantic structures, namely, the
European Union and the NATO, which acquires more importance with the
involvement of the three Southcaucasian countries in the new
neighborhood program. The RA Foreign Ministry’s Press and Information
Departments quoted Vardan Oskanian as stressing the importance of
developing the road and transport corridors both to the West-East and
to the South-North from the viewpoint of regional economic development
meanwhile emphasizing their harmonic development will make it possible
for the South Caucasus to become a lively crossroads. In this context,
the sides exchanged views over the full re-operation of the regional
railroads, especially dwelling upon opening the Kars-Gyumri-Tbilisi as
well as the Abkhazian section of the Russia-Georgia-Armenia
railroads. The sides also touched upon the regional energy safety
problems and relevant developments. In this context they discussed
Turkey’s relations with the countries of the region. Vardan Oskanian
outlined the current state of Armenian-Turkish relations and the
registered shifts. Further the sides refered to the soft points of the
region, i.e. the Karabakhk, Georgian-Abkhazian and Georgian-Ossetian
conflicts and the possibilities of settlement. To sum up the meeting
that lasted close to an hour, the sides agreed to continue the talks
during the official reception in honor of the Georgian foreign
minister given by Vardan Oskanian. Later in the day Salome
Zurabishvili met with RA Parliament Speaker Artur Baghdassarian and
Prime Minister Andranik Margarian, put a wreath to the Tsitsernakaberd
Memorial Complex to the Victims of the Armenian Genocide, met with the
representatives of the Georgian community of Armenia at the Georgian
Embassy and visited the house-museum of Parajanov.