RUSSIA OPENED UPPER LARS TO SUPPLY ITS MILITARY BASE IN GYUMRI WITH ARMS, A LEADER OF GEORGIAN OPPOSITION SAYS

Noyan Tapan
March 10, 2010

YEREVAN, MARCH 10, NOYAN TAPAN. The opening of the Upper Lars
checkpoint shows that Russia wishes to cautiously normalize the frozen
Russian-Georgian relations and not to strain these relations anymore.

Alexey Malashenko, member of the Carnegie Foundation Moscow
Center’s Scientific Council, expressed this opinion during
Yerevan-Moscow-Tbilisi space bridge held on March 9. In his words,
European analysts comment on the Upper Lars opening both from the
optimistic and pessimistic viewpoints, but it is better to operate
the Upper Lars checkpoint than to do nothing. "The Russian-Georgian
relationship is so complicated that it will be a sad thing if no
development is achieved," A. Malashenko noted.

Head of the Interethnic Relations Department of Moscow Institute of
Political and Military Analysis Sergey Markedonov said that there
are still some visa regime-related problems at the checkpoint, but
in any cause its opening was a humanitarian step taken by Russia. "I
wouldn’t like to make the Upper Lars problem conditional only on
Georgia: at the time the closing of this checkpoint caused much
inconvenience for Armenia," S. Markedonov said. According to him,
today some tension can be observed in Armenian-Georgian relations as
well – due to the hard situation in Javakhk.

Chairman of the Union of Caucasian Peoples Zaal Kasrashvili stated
that it wouldn’t be a bad thing if Azerbaijani political scientists
participated in the space bridge. "Why don’t the Russians (who declare
that they want to have good relations with the Georgian people)
take the Georgians’ interests into account?" Z. Kasrashvili asked.

One of the leaders of the Georgian opposition – Giorgy Khaindrava
declared that it is almost impossible for Georgian citizens to receive
a visa at the Upper Lars checkpoint, so there was no point in opening
the checkpoint in this state. In his words, he does not understand
how Russia and Georgia can become reconciled when Georgians consider
Russia an occupant, while Moscow does not agree to negotiate with
Mikheil Saakashvili. "The checkpoint was opened only for Armenia –
so that Russia could supply its military base in Gyumri with arms," G.

Khaindrava said, adding the opening of the checkpoint is aimed against
Georgia and Azerbaijan.

In the opinion of political scientist Alexander Iskandarian, the
opening of Upper Lars checkpoints means that re-formation of the
Russian-Georgian conflict is taking place, and it is still early to
speak about a thaw in relations.