Tbilisi Softens Stance over Abkhaz Railway

Civil Georgia, Georgia
June 15 2005

If launched, rehabilitation of Abkhaz railway
will cost more than USD 100 mln. and will
take more than one year.

Georgian authorities announced on June 15 that Tbilisi has changed
its stance and now is ready to start talks over reopening of the
Abkhaz section of Russian-Georgian railway, which has been halted
since conflict in this breakaway region in early 90s. Russian
and Georgian officials say more than USD 100 million is needed to
rehabilitate 60-kilometer long portion of railway between Georgia’s
Zugdidi district and breakaway capital Sokhumi.

“Recently, the Georgian authorities are positive about resumption
of railway,” Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli said on June
15. He addressed the summit of heads of railway companies from the
CIS countries in Tbilisi.

Genadi Fadeev, who before the evening on June 15 chaired the Russian
Railway Company met with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili on
the sideline of this summit and discussed the resumption of Abkhaz
railway. News broke late on June 15 that Fadeev was replaced on this
position by his deputy Vladimir Yakunin. But, it is less likely that
this change of leadership in the Russia’s state-owned Railway Company
will also change the Moscow’s positive stance over resumption of
Abkhaz railway.

If implemented, the project will revive the Trans-Caucasus Railway,
which stretched more than 2,300 kilometers during Soviet times,
connecting Armenia and Georgian Black Sea ports with central Russia;
the railway operated passenger services and handled more than 15
million tons of transit cargo per year.

But, so far, the issue of reopening the railway via Abkhazia has
always been overshadowed by the political agenda pushed forwards
by officials in Tbilisi. Specifically, Georgia demanded return of
Georgian internally displaced persons to Abkhazia in exchange of
resumption rail traffic through its breakaway region.

“Georgia’s previous authorities had a different position and were
against [the reopening of this railway link], but the new authorities
have recently taken a more positive stance on this issue. But this
process [of reopening the railway] has some organizational problems
and, of course, this issue is linked, first and foremost, with the
security of the Georgian population of Gali district [of Abkhazia],”
Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli said.

He also said that the “organizational problems” also include the
way how the customs procedures will be arranged, as well as how this
process will be controlled.

In an interview with Civil Georgia Chief of the Georgian Railway
Company Davit Onoprishvili said on June 15 that restoration of rail
link might promote the peace process in Abkhazia.

“In general, the Georgian side is interested in reopening this
railway traffic, because it will boost economy and, in turn, it
[economic levers] might as well foster conflict resolution process,”
Onoprishvili said.

“But this process [of railway rehabilitation] needs technical
preparations. It should be assessed how long it will take – apparently,
I think more than year; and also it should be decided who will fund
this project – it can be not only Georgia and Russia, but also other
interested parties,” he added.

Both, Georgian and Russian chiefs of railway companies say that the
cost of rehabilitation works will exceed USD 100 million.

“This cost [USD 100 million] will further increase if we include
[the expenses related to the] rehabilitation of [the portion of the
railway] over the Enguri river,” Genadi Fadeev told reporters in
Tbilisi on June 15. The Enguri river marks the administrative border
between Abkhazia and rest of Georgia.

“I think all participating countries – Russia, Georgia, also Armenia
and, to a certain extant Azerbaijan as well – should fund the
implementation of this project,” he added.

Davit Onoprishvili said that rehabilitation works should be carried
on the portion of railway which stretches from Abkhaz capital Sokhumi
to Ingiri station in Zugdidi district at the administrative border
with Abkhazia.

“Actually there is no railway [on this portion]. A new railway needs
to be installed there,” Onoprishvili added.

The rest of the portion of the railway, connecting Sokhumi with the
Russian capital Moscow has already been rehabilitated with the active
involvement of the Russian side and operates since September, 2004.
This portion of railway was reopened by Russia unilaterally without
prior agreement with Tbilisi which triggered the latter’s harsh
criticism.

Russia and Georgia agreed to jointly work over resumption of Abkhaz
railway in March, 2003, when Russian President Vladimir Putin and
then-Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze singed an agreement,
during a meeting in Sochi, to resume the railway connection and
simultaneously launch the process of returning Georgian internally
displaced persons to Abkhazia.

Georgian and Russian officials launched two-day talks in frames of this
agreement in Moscow on June 15. Georgian State Minister for Conflict
Resolution Issues Goga Khaindrava told reporters before departure to
Moscow on June 15 that “technical issues” over railway resumption,
as well as return of Georgian IDPs to Gali district will be discussed
during these talks.

This softening stance by Georgia was welcomed by land-locked Armenia,
which seeks for railway connection with its strategic partner Russia.
Ararat Khrimian, chief of the Armenian Railway Department told
reporters in Tbilisi on June 15, that Armenia is ready to contribute
to rehabilitation of railway via Abkhazia, if political agreement is
reached between Moscow and Tbilisi.

Despite, this change of stance by Tbilisi over Abkhaz railway, the
Georgian authorities are anyway cautious to openly talk about this
issue, because of anticipated angry reaction from the public. So
far none of the Georgian official has delivered clear explanation to
the public why this resumption of railway will benefit to Georgia,
or to the conflict resolution.