Georgian-Russian rail link again on negotiation table
By M. Alkhazashvili
The Messenger, Georgia
July 20 2005
Georgia is abuzz with talks on the possible revival of the rail
line through Abkhazia. And although the reopening has still not
been finalized, Russia is already proudly touting the railway as a
diplomatic victory.
On Tuesday July 19, Georgian, Russian and de facto Abkhaz officials
met in Sokhumi where they agreed to create a 41-person commission
to study the current condition of the long-defunct rail line linking
Russia and Georgia.
The Abkhaz news agency Apsnypress reported that the group will begin
activities on August 1 and take 45 days to collect information before
reporting back on October 1, the first step in a long awaited effort
by Sokhumi to renew the rail link.
On July 14 in Moscow, the de facto president of Abkhazia Sergei
Bagapsh presented his conditions for the opening of a railway via
Abkhazia. According to him this will be only a transit route to Armenia
and as a result of this, the Abkhaz people demand a significant tax
increase on transit fees. At the same time, Bagapsh demands 1,200
Russian railway specialists to be stationed in Abkhazia to maintain
and operate the railway.
His statements on the issue only renew concerns by Tbilisi that Russia
is invited to become more and more active in the region. If enacted
these conditions would likely further separate Georgia from Abkhazia
and Georgian media have been quick to criticize Bagapsh’s statements.
“Some high-ranking officials speak about the positive effects of the
railway opening. They say that this will restore the trust between
Georgian and Abkhaz governments. What trust we are speaking about,
when Baghabsh demands Russians to be stationed in Abkhazia and
he intends to levy serious taxes on transit as well,” says Paata
Davitaia, a refugee from Abkhazia and the former Minister of Justice
of the Abkhaz government-in-exile, to the newspaper Akhali Taoba,
“Thus the rumors about the fact that the railway opening will improve
Georgian-Abkhaz relations are just absurd.”
Tbilisi had once proposed that Georgians would be employed on the
railway in Abkhazia, and Bagapsh’s move creates another point of
contention.
As for Tbilisi’s insistence that if the railway opens, Georgian
refugees in the Gali region of Abkhazia must be able to return,
it is important to note that the majority of them have already gone
back but still face everyday insecurity.
Georgian authorities have not given their unconditional approval
to the railway rehabilitation via Abkhazia even though the railway
restoration is an issue of active discussion in Russia and Armenia.
The Transport Minister of Armenia Andranik Manukian declared
that Armenia is ready to participate in the work of rehabilitating
Abkhazia’s railway. At the same time, he said, Armenia can help only
technically – not financially.
According to Manukian, Georgia and Russia would allot USD 150
million for the railway restoration, but he admits that the Georgian
authorities have not discussed his suggestion yet reports the newspaper
Akhali Taoba.
The agreement on Tuesday to study the state of the railway creates
additional momentum to rehabilitate the link and Georgia must
be prepared to argue its position on both how the railway will be
operated and what must be done before this can happen.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress