BAKU, TBILISI NOTE PROGRESS IN RAILWAY TALKS
Civil Georgia, Georgia
Dec 26 2006
Talks over the construction of a railway linking Azerbaijan with
the Turkish town of Kars via Georgia are expected to be completed
in January 2007, Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli said after
talks with the Azerbaijani leadership in Baku on December 25.
A delegation from Azerbaijan is expected to visit Tbilisi to finalize
the terms of agreement on January 10.
PM Nogaideli said construction is planned to be launched sometime in
the course of 2007.
Quoting Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Artur Rasizade after talks with
his Georgian counterpart, Azerbaijani news agencies reported that
the treaty over the railway project will be ready in January.
Talks on the Baku-Akhalkalaki-Kars railway project were also held in
Turkey during President Saakashvili’s visit last week.
The Turkish media was reporting that Georgia had refrained from signing
an agreement of understanding about the project, citing that it needs
a firm commitment from Azerbaijan about its readiness to allocate
funds for financing the project.
Armenia is against the Baku-Akhalkalaki-Kars railway, claiming that
the project will further isolate the landlocked country.
The U.S. House of Representatives approved in December the
U.S. Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2006, which bars the
Ex-Im Bank from providing funds for the construction of the railway.
U.S. Congressman Joseph Crowley, who sponsored the bill, said on
December 12 that this controversial railway project "would exclude
Armenia and effectively continue an illegal economic blockade against
the Caucasus nation."