The Messenger, Georgia
Aug 22 2005

What will Saakashvili and Kocharian discuss Lake Sevan?

Rezonansi asks this question on the cover story Friday, reporting
that President Mikheil Saakashvili will visit Armenian President
Robert Kocharian Armenia over the weekend. The newspaper reports the
visit is scheduled to be unofficial and allow the two presidents to
relax at the Armenian presidential residence near Lake Sevan.

Rezonansi reports that Russian media is concerned with the
possibility that Georgia is attempting to involve Armenia in a new
alternative to the CIS, an alliance that includes Georgia and
Ukraine. “The unyielding fighter against the Kremlin Mikheil
Saakashvili will spend part of his vacation on Lake Sevan. Kocharian
is betraying Russia,” Rezonansi quotes the Russian Nezavisimaya
Gazeta as writing.

Rezonansi writes that the head of the Russian political and military
analysis department Sergei Markedonov tells Nezavisimaya Gazeta that
Saakashvili might be pushing Armenia toward the West and become an
intermediary between them. “Saakashvili has been claiming that he
wishes more than just being the president of Georgia. That’s why we
are so worried. Armenia is the only Russian ally in the South
Caucasus. The majority of military bases from Georgia will moved and
deployed in Armenia. Besides, Russia has written off several millions
in debts of Armenia and has actively been participating in the
rehabilitation of the Armenian energy system and development of its
economy. Armenia’s closeness to Georgia will mean a heavy blow to
Russia,” Markedonov states.

According to Rezonansi, the press spokesman for Kocharian disregards
Russian alarm over the issue claiming that Georgian-Armenian
relationships are centuries old and do not imply that Georgia’ is
interfering in Russian-Armenian affairs.

Rezonansi reports that Georgian analyst Vakhtang Khmaladze considers
the Saakashvili-Kocharian visit is very crucial since there are
issues that Georgia and Armenia have to discuss like the Abkhaz
railway, Javakheti and questions of their foreign policies. Khmaladze
remarks that Russia’s fear seems like a “super-power” mentality.

Georgian political analyst Ramaz Sakvarelidze tells the paper that it
is absurd to think about changing Armenian orientation as it is very
closely attached to Russia and even the United States could not
manage that despite the Armenian diaspora in the U.S.