The Messenger, Georgia
July 15 2005

PRESS SCAN

AiF: new hope for Abkhaz railway

The Russian newspaper Argumenti I Facti reports that Minster of
Transport of the Russian Federation Igor Levitin has held negotiations
in Georgia, where it was agreed that Georgia is ready “to open the sky”
for Russian airplanes.

According to the paper, the agreement means that Russian airlines
will be able to carry out as many flights and routes as possible.

Georgian airplanes will retain the right to deliver cargoes only to
Moscow. It was also agreed at the negotiations that starting from
August 1 Georgia will abolish quotas on the international automobile
transport.

“But the most important thing is that there is hope to restore the
railway connection through Abkhazia. For Russia it means the access
to Armenia and Iran. Only 1.5-2 years are necessary for the repair
of the railway. Georgia always linked the restoration of the railway
connection with the return of refugees to Abkhazia,” the paper writes.

However, Argumenti I Facti also states that the Georgian government
is now concerned not about the return of the refugees but the ensuring
of security of the 40-50,000 people who have already returned.

The paper notes on a tangent that the Georgian and Russian sides could
not agree on the sale of the main gas pipeline that supplies Armenia
with the gas to Gazprom. “Georgians, according to the Americans’
advise, rejected the promise they gave two year ago,” the paper states.