GEORGIAN FAM: GROWING NUMBER OF CHECKPOINTS ON GEORGIAN-ARMENIAN BORDER INCREASES CARRYING CAPACITY
By Aghavni Harutyunian in Tbilisi

AZG Armenian Daily
29/06/2006

After signing an intergovernmental agreement on joint fight against
vehicle hijackers and return of hijacked transport means, Georgian
and Armenian foreign ministers spoke to a press conference on June 27.

Vartan Oskanian and Gela Bezhuashvili also expressed condolence to
Russia over the deaths of Russian diplomats in Iraq and went on to
answer media’s questions.

In Gela Bezhuashvili’s words, from $300 million package of the
Millennium Challenges Corporation allocated to Georgia the government
is going to assign $102 million for reconstruction of road network
in Javakhk and also include the region in $49.5 million project for
development of small and average business.

10-15 percent of local population is going to be engaged in the
construction works that will be carried out by tender-winning
companies. The overall investments in the region for 3 years will
amount to $200 million. An Azerbaijani journalist from ANS TV availed
himself an opportunity to ask Vartan Oskanian why Armenia does not
follow the UN resolution and liberate "the territories", Armenian
FM said that if carefully read one will see that there are no words
about Armenia being an occupant of any lands in the resolution.

Answering daily Azg’s question on growing number of checkpoints on
the Armenian-Georgian border, Gela Bezhuashvili said that they are
currently carrying out demarcation of the border. "As to the number
of checkpoints, they simply increase carrying capacity on the border
as military equipment and personnel are being transported to Armenia
from Russian bases. I do not rule out that the number of checkpoints
will further grow once we settle demarcation issues and I see nothing
problematic in this."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress