GEORGIA AND ARMENIA WANT TO REOPEN RUSSIAN BORDER
Sopo Datishvili
The Messenger
June 9 2009
Georgia
On June 8 Georgian Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze met his Armenian
counterpart Eduard Nalbandian. After their meeting they arranged a
joint press conference at which they spoke briefly about the main
topics discussed, which were bilateral cooperation between Armenia
and Georgia and specific cooperation in the political, economic and
cultural spheres.
Nalbandian had raised the question about transporting Armenian cargo
via Poti. He said that transporting goods to Poti from other places was
cheaper than receiving them from Poti. Vashadze said that in future
they will work on resolving this problem, although it isn’t within
the competence of the Foreign Ministry. The Ministers also talked
about Saakashvili’s next visit to Armenia, planned for June 24-25.
At the joint press conference in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Vashadze made an announcement about the currently closed Kazbegi-Zemo
Larsi border crossing between Georgia and Russia. He said that
negotiations with Russia haven’t started yet, but expressed the
readiness of Georgia to cooperate with its Southern neighbour in
ensuring the reopening of this crossing point. He added that Georgia
had suggested that Russia could negotiate this question in neutral
territory and also highlighted that opening the Kazbegi-Zemo Larsi
border is important for many Georgian citizens, and therefore Georgia
will try its best to reopen it.
Political analyst Soso Tsintsadze thinks that Foreign Minister’s
statement about opening the Kazbegi-Zemo Larsi border was provoked
purely by the visit of the Armenian Minister. "Not Georgia but Armenia
is the interested party in this issue. Of course it would be good
for Georgian citizens as well, as they could then cross the border
and visit their relatives, but Armenia’s interest in the matter
is great. Being able to get into Russia via Georgia is of course
profitable for them," said Tsintsadze.
Tsintsadze added that we shouldn’t have any illusions that
Georgian-Russian relations will be improved by opening this
border crossing. "This is only a detail and I don’t regard it as a
strategically important step for either side. But I think foreign
diplomats should also be involved in the negotiations about opening
the border."
At the same press conference Grigol Vashadze commented on the
statement of Head of the Russian General Staff, Nikolai Makarov,
that Georgia’s troops are better equipped now than they were before
the August war. Vashadze said that Georgia knows very well when and
why Russians say such things. He excluded confrontation between two
countries but said that some provocations from Russia are always
possible and Georgia should act carefully.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
