Expert in Georgia issues Jonni Melikyan has described [Armenian] President Serzh Sargsyan's visit to Georgia as positive and constructive.

He noted at the press centre of the Armenpress [news agency] yesterday [27 December]: "There are preconditions that can turn this visit into a turning point". He noted that multilateral meetings were held and they also encompassed the spheres of economy and security and almost all aspects of relations between the states were discussed. "However, a lot depends on the reaction of the Georgian side," he added.

Melikyan gave a positive assessment to the fact that according to the data of 11 months of the expiring year, the trade turnover between Armenia and Georgia increased by 24 per cent. He stressed that it was mostly exports that increased, while imports diminished. Seven million tourists from various countries visited Georgia in the expiring year and 1.5 million of them were Armenians. Jonni Melikyan stressed that it was an important index for Georgia in financial terms.

Jonni Melikyan noted that it was important for the development of relations between the two countries to implement a single programme of operating as transit countries. He said that President Serzh Sargsyan's statement on the creation of joint enterprises was important. He expressed confidence that the Georgian side should take an interest in it, as the market of the EEU [Eurasian Economic Union, of which Armenia is a member] was important for it and Armenia was a EEU country that was the closest to it [Georgia].

The expert also said that it was important to end the practice of voting against each other in international organisations. President Serzh Sargsyan also spoke about this. Mr Melikyan recalled that there was such an agreement from the 1990s, but it was broken during the years of [former Georgian President] Mikheil Saakashvili's tenure. Voting against each other in international organisations often creates obstacles in relations between the states.

"I do not know, whether the issue was discussed or not, but it would be good if the demarcation of the border were completed. Georgia now has determined border only with Turkey," the speaker said, adding: "The coming year, 2018, may become a year full of new approaches and new energy in Armenian-Georgian relations".

Considering Armenian-Georgian relations in the context of the agreement signed with the EU, Jonni Melikyan said that he did not think this could change a lot.

The expert in Georgia issues also touched on the likelihood of using routes alternative to the Lars [checkpoint on the Georgian-Russian border that Armenian cargoes and passengers pass on their way from Armenia to Russia], in particular, the Abkhaz railway line [in Georgia's breakaway Abkhazia]. He believes that the Armenian side's position must be that the process should unfold without any preconditions.

Speaking about problems in Javakhk [Georgia's predominantly ethnic Armenian-populated Javakheti region], he noted that there were social problems in other Georgian regions, too: "The Armenian side may say that it can make certain investments, but they are Georgia's domestic problems and they cannot do more". Incidentally, the speaker stressed that according to the new Georgian constitution, the Georgian side cannot strip citizens with dual citizenship of Georgian citizenship.