GEORGIA NOT TO LOWER SHIPMENT TARIFFS IF ARMENIA-TURKEY RAILWAY REOPENS

Mediamax
Jan 26 2010
Armenia

Yerevan, 26 January: Georgian Prime Minister Nikoloz Gilauri said today
in [Armenia’s capital] Yerevan that Georgia stands for settlement of
all conflicts in the region.

The Georgian prime minister said about this today at a joint briefing
with the Armenian prime minister when answering a question on Georgia’s
attitude towards the normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations
and the opening of [the Armenian-Turkish] border.

Gilauri said at the same time that if railway communication between
Armenia and Georgia resumes, Georgia would not lower tariffs for
railway shipments, "however, natural diversification [of transportation
routes] will have a positive impact on all countries in the region".

Commenting on the perspective of opening of the Verkhniy Lars border
checkpoint at the Russian-Georgian border, the Georgian prime minister
said that a decisive role in this issue is played by Russia "which must
realize – to what extent this is beneficial for Armenia’s economy".