TBILISI DISCUSSES BORDER OPENING
By Temuri Kiguradze
The Messenger
Nov 16 2009
Georgia
The Georgian Government discussed the planned opening of the state
border with Russia at a session of the Georgian National Security
Council (NSC) on November 13. The participants of this meeting,
chaired by President Mikheil Saakashvili, spoke about progress in
negotiations over the reopening of the Zemo Larsi border checkpoint.
"We have had talks in Yerevan – Georgian-Armenian talks with
the participation of Russians – on the reopening of this point,"
Saakashvili said at the meeting. "Some fear this possible reopening;
we will brief you about the information available to us and you can
then draw your own conclusions," he said.
Answering the accusations of opposition parties that there were
doubtful benefits for Georgia in opening this checkpoint and the
country’s security might be compromised Secretary of the National
Security Council Eka Tkeshelashvili, stated that the process "will
only be positive for us and our neighbour [Armenia] and in no way
pose a security threat to our country."
Armenia has a special interest in the reopening of the Zemo Larsi point
as it is the only way it can connect with the Russian Federation
by land, as Armenia can’t gain access to Russian goods through
its other neighbour Azerbaijan because of the tensions between two
countries. "We will try to protect the interests both of Georgia and
Armenia," stated Tkeshelashvili. She added that the "leading role" in
negotiations with the Russian side trough Armenian mediators will be
taken by the Georgian Foreign Ministry. "This step [the border opening]
will be beneficial both from the economic and social points of view,"
the NSC Secretary added.
In his opening remarks at the Council session President Saakashvili
welcomed opposition politicians’ participation in the meeting, saying
it was an example of cooperation between the authorities and the
opposition, including those "who were throwing carrots" at him. This
comment was a reference to the opposition rallies conducted at the
Presidential Residence, when some protesters threw vegetables into
it calling him a "coward rabbit." "Now I think we are moving from
carrot politics to serious politics," Saakashvili told the session,
which was also attended by MP Konstantine Gamsakhurdia, whose Freedom
Party was among the group of opposition parties behind the street
protest rallies.
Land connection between Georgia and Russia ceased with the closure of
the Zemo Larsi border crossing point by Russia in July 2006. There
are two other checkpoints, in breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia,
but these are considered by Georgia to be operating illegally and
entry into Abkhazia and South Ossetia through those points is banned
by Georgian law as those Georgian breakaway regions are considered
occupied by Russian troops.
The official reason for the closure of the Zemo Larsi checkpoint
was the need to undertake repair work. On September 4 2009 this was
completed. The United States allocated Georgia USD 2.4 million to add
more traffic lanes on its side of the checkpoint, install modern search
equipment and construct offices and barracks for the Georgian Patrol
Police and Revenue Service, as well as installing radiation equipment
to detect radioactive materials. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
oversaw the reconstruction of the Georgian side of the checkpoint.