Author: Vanyan Gary

Civil Georgia, Georgia
Feb 22 2005

Saakashvili: Talks with Russia Underway over Privatizing Gas Pipeline
System

In an interview to the Italian newspaper La Stampa published on
February 20, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said that talks
are underway with the Russian energy giant Gazprom over privatization
of Georgia’s gas pipeline system.

`Negotiations are in process… I prefer not to say more,’
Saakashvili answered when he was asked whether Georgia intends to
sell its gas pipelines to Russia.

Gazprom makes no secret about the fact that the company is interested
in privatizing Georgia’s gas pipeline system. The Georgian gas
pipeline system includes pipes which distribute gas in the Georgian
regions and pipelines which are used for transporting gas from Russia
to Armenia. Observers say that the state-run Gazprom is mainly
interested with taking over transit gas pipelines.

Representatives of Gazprom visited Georgia late in January; however
the Georgian leadership claimed that selling of gas pipeline system
was not on agenda.

ARTASHES GEGHAMIAN SET TO BREAK BOYCOTT OF PARLIAMENT WORK

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 21, ARMENPRESS: One of the two major Armenian
opposition parties indicated last Saturday it is set to backpedal on
its promises to continue the boycott of the parliament. The deputy
chairman of the NationalUnity of Artashes Geghamian told a meeting of
its activists the party will show up in the parliament when it starts
debates on a number of “vital” issues.

Geghamian for his part denounced the other major opposition
force,the Ardarutyun alliance, led by Stepan Demirchian, for being
jealous of its attempts to rally the people. Geghamian’s deputy argued
also there is no a force in Armenia that could assume the governance
of the country and went as far as to accuse other opposition forces of
“executing the orders of the authorities.”

Armenia set to benefit from global warming pact

Arminfo
16 Feb 05

Yerevan, 16 February: The Kyoto Protocol, the treaty that requires
cuts in greenhouse gas emissions which cause global warming, came
into effect on 16 February.

[Passage omitted: 141 states supported this protocol]

Armenian Ecology Minister Vardan Ayvazyan said that the sale of unused
“credits” within the framework the Kyoto Protocol may earn Armenia
about 7m dollars annually.

To recap, the Kyoto Protocol envisages a special degree of pollution
of environment by the country’s industrial facilities. If it does not
exceed this limit, the country can sell the unused credit to another
country. Armenia signed an appropriate agreement.

Armenia-Iran energy cooperation suits USA, agency says

Mediamax news agency, Yerevan
14 Feb 05

Excerpt from report in English by Armenian news agency Mediamax on
14 February headlined “Armenia between Iran and the United States”

The Armenian defence minister and secretary of the Security Council
under the Armenian president, Serzh Sarkisyan, paid an official visit
to Iran last week.

[Passage omitted: details of Sarkisyan’s visit]

The Armenian defence minister’s visit to Teheran took place right at
the time when clouds began gathering over Iran. Despite the fact that
the United States has not lately displayed any signs of discontent
over the expanding Armenian-Iranian political, economic and energy
cooperation, it should not be ruled out that the situation may change
in case the pressure on Iran increases.

[Passage omitted: USA imposed sanctions on Armenian company in 2002
for delivering chemical substances to Iran; details of plans to build
Armenia-Iran gas pipeline]

Washington, naturally, has never supported the Iran-Armenia gas
pipeline project. In March 2002, the US ambassador to Armenia, John
Ordway, said that the United States was not against ordinary economic
relations between Armenia and Iran. “However, the USA is preoccupied
with the fact that Iran supports terrorism and purchases weapons of
mass destruction… As Armenia is one of Iran’s closest neighbours,
I expect these issues should give concern to Armenia as well,” the
American diplomat said.

Nevertheless, over the past years the United States has made
no statement against the construction of an Iran-Armenia gas
pipeline. However paradoxical it may seem, we dare suppose that
the construction of an Iran-Armenia gas pipeline is, in a sense,
advantageous to the United States, which has begun open expansion in
the South Caucasus, since the realization of this project will make
Yerevan less dependent on Moscow, and, therefore, more compliant in
issues concerning the promotion of relations with Washington.

[Passage omitted: quotes from Armenian foreign minister’s statement
made in September 2004]

Although a war against Iran is highly unlikely, it is obvious that the
United States will increase its pressure on Teheran. This, of course,
gives concern to Yerevan, which should not waste time and should work
out several scenarios (optimistic, pessimistic and very pessimistic)
of behaviour and wait to see how far the confrontation between the
United States and Iran will go. For instance, if the rift widens,
Armenia will have to be more persistent with the United States in
the issue of opening the Armenian-Turkish border as an alternative
to Iranian communication routes. But if US-Iranian relations warm
up a little (this is, unfortunately, very unlikely), Armenia may try
to assume the role of a bridge between the sides which can launch a
policy of “small steps”.

In any case, the time has come when Armenia, which is already
overloaded with numerous commitments to the powers often pursuing
opposite strategic aims in the region, has to conduct a much more
cautious policy. Any mistake, which is considered to be minor in the
short term, can have serious consequences in the long run.

The Hellenic Radio (ERA)
News in English

Greece Receives Justification

10 Feb 2005 16:18:00

By Stathis Petropoulos

After an investigation, which started after the game with Armenia, UEFA with
a letter sent to the Hellenic Football Federation makes known that no
attempt of bribery from Greek relevant bodies took place and acquits the
Federation of every charge. Analytically the HFF letter states: “A letter
from UEFA to the HFF, states the completion of the investigation which took
place on the subject of Armenian football team officials after the game of
the preliminary phase of 2004 Euro between Armenia and Greece (06.09.2003)
and which led to the irreversible acquittal decision of the Federation and
its President from every charge. In the next issue of Uefadirect a relative
article will be published in which will make clear that based on the
evidence of the research, the HFF and its President have not been involved
in a bribery attempt.”

Translated by Eirene Nisiriou

NEW GROUP OF GEORGIA’S FRIENDS FOUNDED
by Vladimir Socor

Eurasia Daily Monitor
Monday, February 7, 2005 — Volume 2, Issue 26

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria founded
the “New Group of Georgia’s Friends” on February 4 in Tbilisi. The
specification “new” differentiates it from the decade-old “Group
of Friends of Georgia,” originally comprised of the United
States, Germany, Britain, and France. That old group became
collectively dysfunctional some years ago when it turned into the “UN
Secretary-General’s Group of Friends of Georgia” and allowed Russia
to join as a veto-wielding member. That group also has inevitably
been affected by the drift toward a Russia-First approach in Berlin
and Paris.

The New Group does not in any way intend to supersede the old one. It
is, rather, a different group with its own distinct mission, answering
to new requirements that could hardly have been anticipated when
the old group had taken shape. The New Friends propose to share with
Georgia their experience as formerly Communist-ruled countries that
have completed or are set to complete their Euro-Atlantic integration
processes, and now intend to promote such processes in the Black
Sea-South Caucasus region.

Georgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Salome Zourabichvili chaired the
New Friends’ founding meeting in Tbilisi, with her Estonian counterpart
Kristiina Ojuland attending, along with State Secretaries for Foreign
Affairs from the other five New Friends countries. The group is
open to new member-countries from among new members of NATO and the
European Union; and it hopes to bring in Azerbaijan and Armenia into
the group in the next stage.

The New Friends intend to assist Georgia’s internal reforms and
its efforts to qualify for eventually joining NATO and the EU,
as well as to support international steps to provide security for
Georgia. According to press releases from the Lithuanian and Georgian
Ministries of Foreign Affairs, and informal statements to journalists
in Tbilisi after the meeting, the New Friends’ goals include:

— assisting in the implementation of the Georgia-NATO Individual
Partnership Action Plan (IPAP), the success of which can lead to a
Membership Action Plan (MAP, a goal implied but not stated on this
occasion); working to support NATO’s open-door policy;

— working within the EU to initiate the drafting, in a timely manner,
of an EU-Georgia Action Plan as part of the EU’s recently adopted
European Neighborhood Policy (in which the South Caucasus is now
included after having been omitted initially);

— providing the services of experts for drafting of Georgia’s
European integration strategy and for administrative capacity-building
in Georgia;

— jointly urging, within international organizations, the removal of
Russian bases and troops from Georgia, in accordance with Russia’s 1999
Istanbul Commitments; elevating this issue on the EU’s policy agenda;

— supporting Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s recently
launched South Ossetia Peace Initiative (see EDM, January 27);

— calling attention to the importance of EU and NATO participation
in international efforts to resolve conflicts in the region.

As an urgent political priority, the New Group of Friends is urging
the EU to take over the Georgia Border Monitoring Mission, which the
OSCE has (at Russia’s insistence) given up.

Several programs are under way or getting started on a national
basis. Estonia (a European front runner in computerization of public
services) plans to launch one of its “Tiger Leap” programs for the
computerization of Georgia’s public services, as well as to open a
military liaison office in Tbilisi (an Estonian defense adviser is
already stationed there). Meanwhile, a Lithuanian heads the EU’s
rule-of-law advisory mission in Georgia; and a Latvian serves as
NATO’s liaison official for the South Caucasus, based in Tbilisi.

For effective implementation of direct assistance to Georgia from
their small resources, the New Friends intend to coordinate efforts,
avoid duplication, and provide lists of experts available to work
with Georgia. The New Group of Friends plans to hold meetings
several times a year. Romania has offered to host the next meeting
and to invite some additional countries, in keeping with the goal of
enlarging the Group’s format.

Two initiatives have converged into the founding of the New Group
of Friends of Georgia. One initiative is Romania’s, launched by
then-Minister of Foreign Affairs Mircea Geoana in 2003, and continued
energetically by Romania’s new President Traian Basescu and new
government, reaching out to Black Sea countries on the new border of
the enlarged NATO. The other initiative, spearheaded by Lithuania,
seeks to impart the Baltic states’ successful post-Soviet transition
experience to Georgia and other Black Sea-South Caucasus countries.
Saakashvili’s October 2004 visit to the Baltic states (see EDM,
October 21) occasioned preparatory discussions on a 3 +1 and a 3 +
3 framework (Baltic-Georgia, Baltic-South Caucasus). The Group of
Friends now covers the Baltic-Black Sea space, anchoring the eastern
Black Sea shore.

Monday, February 7, 2005 — Volume 2, Issue 26

IN THIS ISSUE: *Georgia’s Friends: New Group, Added Value *Tymoshenko
announces her leadership team, emphasizing diversity *Increasing doubts
that Putin will ever visit Japan *PONARS scholars doubt longevity of
United Russia

Agence France Presse — English
February 6, 2005

Iran denies responsibility for Georgian PM’s death

TEHRAN

Iran moved Sunday to deny any role or responsibility in the death of
Georgian prime minister Zurab Zhvania, killed by carbon monoxide
fumes from a heater made in the Islamic republic.

“Many such heaters were exported to Georgia, and many are being used
in Iran.

But nobody has ever died,” insisted foreign ministry spokesman Hamid
Reza Asefi. He said reports on the circumstances of the death
“indicate a faulty installation”.

“Of course we feel sorry over the death of the Georgian prime
minister, and we have sent a message of condolence,” Asefi said. “It
was a sad accident. We have good relations with Georgia and we were
truly saddened.”

The 41-year-old prime minister, who was due to be buried later
Sunday, was found by his bodyguards slumped over a table in an
apartment on the outskirts of Tbilisi early Thursday — sending shock
waves through the former Soviet republic.

He appeared to have succumbed to carbon monoxide fumes from an
inadequately ventilated room heater — manufactured by the Nik-Kala
heater factory in Karaj, a satellite city of Tehran.

Also denying any responsibility was Ali Soleimani, Nik-Kala’s
managing director.

“Not only the Georgians but most residents of the new republics do
not have the culture of using gas heaters,” Soleimani told the Shargh
newspaper.

“The Georgian and Russian officials are the ones to blame. We have
published manuals in Armenian and Russian giving the right
instructions. We have emphasized that the heaters are to be installed
by our representatives in those countries.”

The Messenger, Georgia
Feb 4 2005

Gas pipeline provokes disagreement
By M. Alkhazashvili

Georgia’s main gas pipeline has become a topic of much debate within
the government. The position of the late Prime-Minister Zurab Zhvania
and State Minister Kakha Bendukidze was that it is possible to sell
the gas pipeline to the Russian company Gazprom.

But some analysts think that this move would jeopardize the country’s
energy-security and amount to a betrayal of Georgia’s main ally, the
United States. Speaker of Parliament Nino Burjanadze has also
expressed her strong opposition to the sale of the pipeline.

According to the Georgian Constitution, the main gas pipeline is a
strategic state asset and as such cannot be privatized. Upon becoming
Minister of Economic Development, however, Kakha Bendukidze stated
that economics does not recognize the idea of a ‘strategic object’
and therefore even the gas pipeline could be sold in return for
adequate compensation.

The only potential buyer of the main gas pipeline at the moment is
Gazprom. Buying the pipeline is a matter of strategic importance for
Russia. After the building of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline, it will
be possible to export Iranian gas via Georgia to Europe. It is also
noteworthy that talks are underway about the possibility of importing
gas from Iran to Georgia. This Iranian gas would provide competition
with the Azerbaijani gas being exported through the
Baku-Tbilisi-Erzrum pipeline.

When Prime-Minister Zhvania and other officials expressed their
support for selling the pipeline to Gazprom, Burjanadze immediately
came out against the move. “I am categorically against gas pipeline
privatization, especially selling it to Russia. I have already said
this to the government and I cannot understand why we have to sell it
to Russia. I am pretty sure that I will have the opportunity to
negotiate with the president over this issue and present my arguments
to him. I am convinced that the president will not permit that
Baku-Erzrum and Baku-Ceyhan to be endangered,” said Burjanadze, as
quoted by the newspaper Rezonansi.

Zhvania affirmed that the gas pipeline issue will not be resolved
without Parliament, though he expressed surprise that “this gas
pipeline is being discussed as a sacred object like Svetitskhoveli
[Georgian orthodox church in Mtskheta] and the Khakhuli icon.”

The statements by Zhvania and Burjanadze make it obvious that the gas
pipeline issue is a topic of heated discussion in the Georgian
administration. Some analysts think that the fate of this state asset
may reveal the country’s real foreign policy orientation.

AUTHORITIES DECLARE GEORGIAN PRIME MINISTER’S DEATH AN ACCIDENT

EURASIA INSIGHT

EurasiaNet.org
Thursday, February 3, 2005

By Molly Corso

Zurab Zhvania, Georgia’s prime minister and a member of the triumvirate
that led the country’s 2003 Rose Revolution, was found dead in a Tbilisi
apartment February 3, the apparent victim of carbon-monoxide poisoning.
An initial investigation indicated that Zhvania’s death was accidental.
The tragedy comes at a particularly sensitive time for the Georgian
government, and deprives the country of its most experienced reformist
politician.

Zhvania’s death occurred at the apartment of Raul Usupov, the deputy
governor of the Kvemo-Kartli region, who also died in the incident. The
prime minister’s bodyguards discovered the bodies of the two men at
about 4:30 am, breaking down the apartment’s door after not receiving a
response to knocking and a cell-phone call, according to reports. The
two had apparently succumbed to carbon-monoxide fumes.

The motivation for Zhvania’s late-night visit to Usupov’s apartment
remains shrouded in mystery. A source told EurasiaNet that the prime
minister reportedly received a phone call around midnight, as he was
preparing to go to bed, prompting him to change his plans and depart for
Usupov’s apartment. Inside the apartment, investigators found an open
backgammon board. According to Vasil Maghlaperidze, a member of
parliament, Usupov had been seeking a meeting with the prime minister
for the past week.

Vano Merabishvili, the minister of internal affairs, announced that a
preliminary investigation ruled out criminal action in connections with
the deaths. Authorities fixed the cause on a faulty heating system,
which had recently been installed in Usupov’s apartment.

Nugzar Mkhedze, a representative of Tbilgazi, said the
Iranian-manufactured heater had not been properly installed causing
fumes to accumulate inside the poorly ventilated apartment. “The heater
consumes oxygen from the room. When there is no more oxygen, it poisons
the air,” he explained. “In the back, there was not a good connection.
Fifteen to 20 minutes is enough to start poisoning a person.”

Mkhedze added that Zhvania and Usupov could well have been unaware of
the poisoning danger, given that carbon monoxide is difficult to detect.
“You just want to sleep. You fall asleep and die,” Mkhedze said in a
statement issued after examining Usupov’s apartment.

Late on February 3, Deputy Justice Minister Levan Samkharauli announced
that forensic tests revealed that Zhvania’s body contained double the
lethal amount of carboxihemoglobin – a product of carbon-monoxide
inhalation — in his bloodstream. The build-up of carboxihemoglobin in
Zhvania’s and Usupov’s bodies cut the oxygen supply to their brains and
other organs, causing them to asphyxiate, Samkharauli indicated.

Zhvania’s death shocked Georgia’s political establishment. A visibly
shaken President Mikheil Saakashvili, speaking on Georgian television,
said Zhvania’s untimely death posed a significant challenge to the
government’s stabilization efforts. “This is a blow for our country and
for me personally,” Saakashvili said. “I call on everybody to be strong,
to stand together and continue to serve our country.”

Manana Nachepia, a representative of the New Right/Industrialists
opposition coalition, lamented Zhvania’s passing, saying the country has
lost a patriot. “Even though we were opposition, we considered him very
smart, very energetic and he fought for [Georgia],” she said in a
telephone interview. “I can’t say any thing concrete about what will be
next, but I hope everything falls unto place and goes well.”

The news of Zhvania’s death came on the heels of a February 1
car-bombing in the city of Gori. Saakashvili characterized the bombing
as a terrorist act, and it has heightened the tension surrounding the
Georgian government’s efforts to reintegrate the break-away regions of
Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The tragedy could also significantly impact
the country’s privatization process, one of Zhvania’s primary
responsibilities.

Saakashvili announced that, for the time being, he would assume
Zhvania’s duties, the Civil Georgia web site reported late on February
3. Earlier reports had indicated that Saakashvili had elevated Vice
Premier Giorgi Baramidze to serve as the provisional head of government.

Saakashvili reportedly convened a late-night session of the country’s
National Security Council on February 3 to discuss potential prime
ministerial candidates. Saakashvili indicated that he would nominate a
replacement for Zhvania within a week, a Civil Georgia report said.

Zurab Zhvania, who was 41 at the time of his death, had been prominent
in Georgia’s reform movement for over 15 years. Political analysts in
Tbilisi described him as the glue that held Saakashvili’s cabinet
together, serving as a bridge between economic reformers, led by
financial trouble-shooter Kakha Bendukidze and the nationalist faction
led by Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili. He was one of the few
members of the cabinet with extensive experience in positions of
authority. Zhvania leaves behind a wife, Nino, and three children;
Elizabeth, Bessarion and Ann.

A biologist by training, he got his start in politics in 1989, when he
was elected chairman of the Georgian Green Party. In 1992, Zhvania was
elected to parliament. The next year, he catapulted to national
prominence, becoming the secretary-general of the newly established
Citizens Union of Georgia (CUG), which was at the time envisioned as a
political support vehicle for then-president Eduard Shevardnadze.

The CUG swept the parliamentary elections of 1995, and Zhvania emerged
as the speaker of the legislature. He held that post until 2001, when he
resigned amid a government crisis. During his tenure as parliament
speaker, he led the so-called “Young Reformer” movement and was
instrumental in bringing Saakashvili into Shevardnadze’s administration
as justice minister. Like Zhvania, Saakashvili resigned in late 2001,
complaining about corruption.

In opposition to Shevardnadze, Zhvania and Saakashvili pursued different
political courses, with the present-day president favoring more
confrontational tactics. Saakashvili’s aggressiveness captured
publicity, enabling him to vault past Zhvania as the most prominent
figure in Georgia’s reform movement.

The two became close allies again during the aftermath of the November
2003 parliamentary election, which they denounced as rigged by
Shevardnadze’s administration. The two, along with incumbent Parliament
Speaker Nino Burjanadze, helped galvanize popular protests into what
became known as the Rose Revolution, forcing Shevardnadze’s resignation.

In the post-Shevardnadze era, Zhvania and Saakashvili appeared to
coexist well as the government pursued an ambitious program to
reintegrate the country and root out corruption. In televised comments
February 3, Saakashvili called Zhvania his “closest friend, closest
adviser and faithful ally.”

Editor’s Note: Molly Corso is a freelance journalist and photographer
based in Tbilisi.

A1 Plus | 16:28:00 | 03-02-2005 | Official |

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT AND PRIME MINISTER CONDOLE ON ZURAB ZHVANIA’S DEATH

In view of Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania’s death Armenian
Premier Andranik Margaryan expressed his sympathy in a letter to the
Georgian government.

`The Armenian government offers deepest condolences on the tragic
death of Zurab Zhvania. It is painful to learn of unexpected decease
of the unique man, talented political and public figure, who was
pivotal in the formation of independent and democratic Georgia and
made a great contribution to the development of friendship and
cooperation between the two countries.”

Armenian President Robert Kocharyan also send a condolence telegram to
Georgian leader Mikhail Saakashvili. The telegram says in part, “‘We
learned with sadness of the Prime Minister’s tragic death. We share
the bitterness of the loss with you.’