EX-PRESIDENT OF GEORGIA: TURKISH INITIATIVE OF CAUCASIAN PLATFORM UNTIMELY

ArmInfo
2008-12-24 13:54:00

Turkish initiative of Caucasian Platform is untimely, ex-president
of Georgia Eduard Shevardnadze says in an interview with iamik.ru.

‘To speak of peace in the Caucasus, it is necessary to establish
relations of Azerbaijan and Armenia i.e. to settle the conflict over
Karabakh, to settle problems with Abkhazia and South Ossetia. In
the North Caucasus some peoples are also speaking of independence,
in particular, Ingush people.

Only after settlement of these problems one can speak about Caucasian
peaceful space’, Shevardnadze said. As regards the stances of the
neighbor-states during the August events, ex-president of Georgia said:
and psychologically supported Georgia. The situation with Armenia
differs a little. Russia’s influence is very big there. There are
Russian military bases there. They are more restricted. Asked about
the information that Russian aviation bases in Gyumri were used during
the August incidents, Eduard Shevardnadze said: ‘If Russia coordinated
its actions with the Armenian leadership I don’t think that Armenians
would agree with that. It is not in their favor’.

As regards the opinion that the key to settlement of conflicts in the
Caucasus is in Moscow, Shevardnadze believes that it is right to some
extent. ‘But Russia has already faced its own problems. It will no
longer be able to come out against progressive ideas originating in the
Caucasus so decisively. Russia will find itself in deep crisis. OPEC
member-states cut petroleum recovery and it cannot prevent that. It
also reduces petroleum recovery and sale, as well as gas and wood
production. All this affects the budget, which in its turn affects
the military capacity and potential’.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress