Channel 1, Tbilisi,
10 Jan 2007

GEORGIAN MINISTER SAYS RAILWAY WILL BE BUILT DESPITE US OPPOSITION

[Presenter] Georgian Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili has commented
on a statement by Matthew Bryza, the US deputy assistant secretary of
state [for European and Eurasian Affairs]. [Passage omitted] Bryza
had said that America was opposed to the construction of the
Kars-Akhalkalaki-Baku railway because it would bypass Armenia. He
added, however, that it was up to investors to decide whether or not
to go ahead with the project. He said that if Georgia, Turkey and
Azerbaijan wanted to build a railway, no-one would be able to stop
them doing that, however America would not support the project.

The project is expected to be funded by Azerbaijani and Turkish
companies.

[Bezhuashvili] Congress has decided that American banks will not fund
this project. We are aware of that. Naturally, it is the United
States’ sovereign right to finance or not to finance a project. There
are other resources for this project. Therefore, the railway will be
built using other resources. That is it. This has always been known.
This project will be implemented. It is an important project for us.
It is also important for Turkey and Azerbaijan. Generally, it is
important for opening a corridor through which cargoes will be
transported from Central Asia and China to Europe.