GEORGIA’S RECENT STEP DOES NOT AFFECT ARMENIA’S INTERESTS
/PanARMENIAN.Net/
18.08.2009 15:11 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Georgia’s withdrawing from CIS will not affect
Armenian-Georgian relations, Western Armenians’ Studies Center Director
Haykazun Alvrtsyan told today a news conference in Yerevan. Armenia
attaches so much importance to Armenian-Georgian relations that it is
not absolutely interested whether or not Georgia will be a CIS member
state, the expert said, recalling Armenia’s refusal to recognize
Abkhazia and South Ossetia’s independence.
According to him, Armenia has assumed an increasingly important role
in the region. Thus, Iran’s interest in cooperating with Yerevan
may make Armenia attractive for Georgia as well. Besides, following
Russian-Georgian war, Georgia has found itself in "miserable" state,
the speaker finds.
After Russian-Turkish rapprochement, Georgia no longer acts as a
"whimsical" child, the expert noted. "No wonder Saakashvili states
Armenia is Russia’s strategic ally, although it is not enshrined in
any document."
On August 12, 2008, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili made
a decision on quitting CIS, as a sign of protest against Russia’s
military operation aimed at forcing peace in South Ossetia. President’s
decision was followed by relevant legal procedures which took certain
time. On August 18, Georgia officially and ultimately withdrew
from CIS.