ABKHAZIA WANTS FULL INVOLVEMENT IN RUSSIA-GEORGIA-ARMENIA RAIL CONSORTIUM
Apsnypress
5 May 06
Sukhumi, 5 May: Abkhazia will be a fully-fledged member of the
international consortium of Black Sea railways, Abkhaz prime minister
Aleksandr Ankvab said at a news conference held at the Apsnypress
news agency today.
A protocol on the creation of the consortium, which will include
Abkhazia, Georgia, Russia and Armenia, was signed in Moscow on 4 May
by representatives of the four sides.
Ankvab stressed that Abkhazia would never agree to anything detrimental
to its interests. The prime minister thinks that, from the economic
point of view, the restoration of the rail service through Abkhazia is
a very advantageous project for the republic. He added that Abkhazia
would not be able to maintain the railway on its own because the
railway “is not in its best condition, and its material and technical
resources are not up to modern standards”.
“This consortium will be a purely commercial structure which will
have nothing to do with politics,” Ankvab said. “We will not accept
any political demands. We are not selling our independence and no-one
will be able to force us to do so,” he added.
