AZG Armenian Daily #039, 04/03/2005

Neighbors

GEORGIA IS CONCERNED ABOUT METSAMOR NPP

While France Is Concerned about Pankis Gorge Where Chemical and Biological
Weapons Are Produced

“Georgia is concerned with the fact that a nuclear power plant is situated
near its borders,” Gela Bezhuashvili said, secretary of the Georgian
National Security Council on March 1. According to Liberty Radio Station,
touching upon the dangers threatening Georgia, Bezhuashvili told the
journalists that the Metsamor nuclear power plant is situated in a seismic
country and each accident can cause an ecological disaster that “will be
fatal for the whole region.”

It’s worth reminding that for many years and even today the electricity
generated at the Metsamor NPP is being exported to Georgia at much lower
prices than the Armenian consumer pays. For many times, the Georgian
officials expressed their deep gratitude to Armenia for providing them with
electricity. The EU and the US call for Armenia to close Metsamor NPP,
suggesting 100 million euros against that. Meanwhile, the Yerevan
authorities do not mention that the country needs $1 billion for proceeding
alternative energy plants.

While Georgia is concerned about the Metsamor NPP, France is concerned about
Pankis gorge in Georgia. “The international terrorists produce chemical and
biological weapons in Pankis gorge,” Dominique de Villepin, French home
affairs minister, stated at the scientific conference dedicated to the
issues of biological terrorism held in Lyon, on March 1.

According to Georgian Kavkazpress agency, there are documents at disposal of
the French special services that testify to the fact that Al Qaeda generates
biological weapon of mass destruction near the Georgian border with
Chechnya. French minister stated that the Al Qaeda groups trained in
Afghanistan moved to Georgia and continue experiments in generating chemical
and biological weapons in Pankis gorge.

According to Interfax, Vano Merabishvili, Georgian home affairs minister,
commenting on the statement made by his French colleague, said that Tbilisi
has no information on that.