The Messenger, Georgia
June 21 2005

Negotiations open on renewal of Abkhaz railway

The Georgian government has suggested recently that it supports the
reopening of the Tbilisi-Sochi railway through Abkhazia, though it is
unclear on what terms Tbilisi would be prepared to agree to the rail
link.

The decision was made at Georgian-Abkhaz talks in Moscow last week
that representatives of Georgia, Russia and Abkhazia will discuss the
issue on July 1. The meeting will be held in Gali, in the office of
the UN special representative.

Speaking before the 46th CIS Railways Council last week, Prime
Minister Zurab Noghaideli stated that although “for a long period of
time the Georgian government had a negative attitude towards
reopening the railway via Abkhazia, recently this position has
changed.” The PM added, however, that the restoration of the railway
was connected with several factors, including, first and foremost,
the safe return of Georgian IDPs to Gali.

Although Noghaideli points to a change of attitude regarding the
railway, his connecting its renewal with the return of refugees is
nothing new: according to the 2003 Sochi agreement signed by Vladimir
Putin and Eduard Shevardnadze, restoration of the railway and the
return of refugees should happen in parallel. Nevertheless, the
government’s language is undoubtedly more constructive, and it looks
increasingly likely that an agreement will be reached. Chairman of
Georgian Railways Davit Onoprishvili acknowledged as much last week
when he stated that the rail link would be reopened “sooner or
later.”

This is good news for Russia and Abkhazia, as well as for Armenia,
which is largely dependent on imports from Russia. Although there are
many in Georgia who argue that the railway should not be reopened, as
it will help improve the Abkhaz economy and thus strengthen the
separatist regime, for a country whose greatest asset is arguably its
strategic location, the railway is also good news for Georgia, at
least in economic terms.

Of course, the railway is an important bargaining chip for Tbilisi,
and it should not pass up the opportunity of negotiations on the
issue to press for the opening of a UN Human rights Bureau in Gali
and greater guarantees for Georgian refugees returning to the region.

On the other hand, however, the railway offers a chance for Georgians
and Abkhaz to work together on a project of mutual economic benefit.
If Georgia is to finally restore its territorial integrity, and
Abkhazia is to return to the Georgian fold, it will be because the
two sides have learnt to trust each other; and the railway provides
an opportunity for the development of such trust.

There is a widespread belief in Georgia that the government should
not do anything, such as agree to the restoration of the railway,
that will improve the lot of Abkhaz separatists. The argument for
this is twofold. Firstly, it is believed that for the government to
pursue such policies while so many refugees live in poverty is to
snub those Georgians who lost their homes, and family members, in the
Georgian-Abkhaz conflict. Secondly, the argument runs that a rich,
happy Abkhazia will have no need to reintegrate into Georgia.

Although there is perhaps some logic to the second argument, it
should be noted that the Georgian economy should also benefit from
the reconstruction of the railway, as well as the Abkhaz. As for the
first, such an argument is based on the belief that the Abkhaz are to
blame for the 1990s conflict, and that no Georgian government should
take a “soft” line on an Abkhaz regime responsible for the suffering
of so many Georgians. While such feelings are understandable, such an
attitude is never going to lead to the reintegration of Abkhazia into
Georgia, and if the government’s primary aim is to restore
territorial identity, it must be prepared to be constructive and make
compromises in order to develop better relations with Sokhumi.

There are a number of technical issues that need to be addressed
before an agreement can be reached on the restoration of the railway,
including where Georgian and Russian customs offices are to be
located, who will pay the cost of restoration, who will be
responsible for the railway’s security, and so on. The government
should press ahead in addressing these issues, however, as the
renewal of rail communications is a good thing for everyone: the
Georgian administration’s apparent change of heart on the issue is
encouraging.