New body to make sure no freight gets to Armenia via Azerbaijan – TV

ANS TV, Baku
30 Nov 04

[Presenter Aytan Safarova] The Azerbaijani State Customs Committee’s
delegation is in Tbilisi. The delegation is to verify the documents of
the companies which own the freight in the wagons that have been
stopped at the Boyuk Kasik station [on the Georgian-Azerbaijani
border].

[Correspondent] The damage inflicted on the other side by Azerbaijan’s
stricter control over the railway freight heading for Georgia is
around five to six million dollars, (?Irma Stepnadze), the
spokesperson of Georgia’s Department of Railways, has told ANS TV. She
said that the overall amount of losses is still being calculated. The
temporary detention of freight wagons on the border has also inflicted
some losses on Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani State Railway Department
did not disclose the amount but said that since this has to do with
national interests, the losses are not that important.

The Azerbaijani bodies, especially the State Customs Committee,
started to seriously search the wagons from Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan
and Russia which head for Georgia through Azerbaijan a month ago. The
Baku government explains this by the subsequent transit of some of the
commodities, particularly of oil, to Armenia. According to documents
signed by the Georgian and Azerbaijani heads of states, commodities
cannot be transited to a third country if this runs counter to
Azerbaijan’s interests. As for the commodities, they include oil,
liquefied gas, grain and flour.

[Passage omitted: minor details]

Azerbaijan’s ambassador to Georgia, Ramiz Hasanov, has said that the
verification of companies by the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee’s
delegation will take until the end of the week.

[Hasanov over telephone] This process will take some time, about three
or four days. Some proposals will be made after that. They are
investigating, verifying documents and figures. There is no proposal
as yet. On the basis of their investigation we will make some
proposals and will take some measures.

When I say investigation I mean that they are checking what are those
companies, what are the amounts and so on.

[Correspondent] Despite suffering losses, the other side does not
protest at the process.

[Hasanov] There is no discontent at all. They understand and we cite
some bilateral agreements. We have the right to do this.

[Correspondent] During the talks the creation of a special body under
the Azerbaijani embassy in Georgia was also discussed. The body is to
include representatives of the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee,
Azerbaijani State Railway Department and the State Oil Company of the
Azerbaijani Republic and to oversee that freight transited from
Azerbaijan to Georgia reaches its destination. The Tbilisi government
has already agreed to the creation of the body, Hasanov said. The body
is expected to start working soon.

Ayaz Mirzayev, ANS.