GEORGIA TO START NUCLEAR COOPERATION WITH FRENCH COMPANY

Rustavi-2 TV, Tbilisi
15 Jun 07

[Presenter] Georgian ambassador to France [Mamuka Kudava] has
confirmed Rustavi-2’s information on [plans to build] a nuclear
reactor in Georgia.

Mamuka Kudava said that the Georgian side will start cooperating
with the French AREVA company in the near future. Consultations will
also be held with experts who will be tasked to finalize appropriate
documentation required for resolving technical issues and starting
construction.

The Georgian parliament speaker [Nino Burjanadze] also commented on
this issue. Nino Burjanadze believes that the construction of a reactor
and cooperation with the AREVA company will be useful for both sides.

[Kudava, speaking in France] We discussed issues of bilateral
cooperation regarding prospects for a peaceful nuclear power station
and we agreed that this sphere is, of course, in our interests. The
president said this. We will start consultations at the expert level
in order to discuss various issues.

[Burjanadze, speaking in France] Cooperation with this organization
in this field is important for Georgia.

[Correspondent] In the energy sector? For peaceful purposes?

[Burjanadze] Of course. No one is going to use nuclear weapons or
create them. Naturally, it is only cooperation with peaceful purposes
that is being discussed.

[In a separate report in the same bulletin, Georgian Prime Minister
Zurab Noghaideli said in Tbilisi: "This depends not so much on us as
on Armenia.

You know that there is a nuclear reactor there. The replacement of
the old Armenian reactor with a new one is at issue. I would like
to repeat that what is being discussed today is whether it will be
in Armenia, in Georgia or whether it will exist at all. Whether the
old one will be replaced with the new one depends on what decision
Armenia will make. Therefore, it is too early to speak about where,
when, why and how it will exist and my advise is not to make a special
issue out of this now.]