GEORGIAN ENVOY NOTES INTEREST IN IRANIAN GAS VIA ARMENIA

Mediamax news agency
20 Mar 06

Yerevan, 20 March: The government of Georgia is interested in
improving the socio-economic situation in the region of [Georgia’s]
Samtskhe-Javakheti, the Georgia ambassador, Revaz Gachechiladze,
said in Yerevan today.

Speaking at the National Press Club today, Revaz Gachechiladze said
that the Georgian government pays special attention to problems in
Samtskhe-Javakheti populated mainly by Armenians.

The official pointed out that the government of Georgia made a decision
to allocate over 110m dollars for the construction and maintenance
of roads in this region with the financial assistance of the US
Millennium Challenge Corporation.

Georgia is interested in receiving Iranian gas through the territory
of Armenia, Revaz Gachechiladze said. Speaking at the National Press
Club today, Revaz Gachechiladze stressed that the transit of Iranian
gas will be beneficial to both Armenia and Georgia.

Commenting on plans to construct the Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi railway,
the Georgian diplomat said that Georgia considers this project
exclusively in the context of its connection to the international
railway network. According to Revaz Gachechiladze, if Armenia could
agree with Turkey on the restoration of the Gyumri-Kars railway, there
would be no need for elaborating the Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi project.

Speaking about bilateral Armenian-Georgian trade and economic
ties, Revaz Gachechiladze expressed the opinion that they are
“unsatisfactory”. The ambassador said that Georgia is interested in
the flow of Armenian capital in the economy.

[Arminfo, Yerevan, in Russian 1212 gmt 18 Mar 06 quoted Gachechiladze
as saying that agreement had been reached to build a power transmission
line from Armenia’s Razdan to Georgia’s Gardabani]