Armenia president hails unsealing of Russia-Georgia border

Interfax
25 Oct. 2004

Tbilisi. (Interfax) – The president of Armenia on Friday hailed the
unsealing by Russia of its border with Georgia while his Georgian
counterpart said the border’s closure several weeks ago “has reminded
us once again that sales markets should be looked for not only
in Russia.”

The reopening of the Upper Lars checkpoint “is evidence that tension
in North Ossetia is subsiding after the Beslan events,” Armenian
President Robert Kocharian, currently on a visit to Georgia, told
a joint news conference with Georgian leader Mikheil Saakashvili in
reference to the school siege in September.

“It was exactly the tension that arose in North Ossetia that explained
that measure [the border closure],” Kocharian said.

Saakashvili said: “The sealing of the border has reminded us once
again that sales markets should be looked for not only in Russia but
also in other countries.”

“While we should keep the Russian market, we should also find other
markets,” he said.