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The Messenger, Georgia
March 7 2005
Noghaideli succeeds in lifting railway blockade
By M. Alkhazashvili
New Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli has managed to persuade President
Ilham Aliev of Azerbaijan to lift the quasi railway blockade from
Azerbaijan to Georgia.
The breakthrough happened during the recent working visit of PM
Noghaideli to Azerbaijan and his personal negotiations with President
Aliev during which he promised to lift the blockade in the coming
days.
Misunderstanding concerning cargo transported from Azerbaijan to
Georgia started in 2004. The Azeri leadership stated then that some
cargo entering Georgia from Azerbaijan was being rerouted to Armenia.
By detaining railway freight cars at the border, Azeribaijan hoped to
identify any goods being sent to Armenia via Georgia. But this
activity unintentionally resulted in serious damage to the
reliability of the South Caucasus transport corridor. Georgian
importers incurred major losses and many international forwarders
started exploring other for cargo transportation.
However Friday's visit of Noghaideli to Azerbaijan and his meeting
with Aliev proved that the relationship with the two countries is
still very good. President Aliev mentioned that there is a better
understanding and support between Georgian and Azerbaijan, reports
24-Saati.
Still this temporary misunderstanding occurred and as the head of
Georgian Railways, David Onoprishvili, says, because the delays of
freight at the Azeri border, Georgia has lost more than USD 1
million.
Due to an agreement signed by both Baku and Tbilisi, it is clear that
transiting of goods bound for Armenia via the Azeri-Georgian border
is prohibited. It is also a fact that some of the goods entering
Georgia from Azerbaijan ended up in Armenia. But a question remained
as to why Azerbaijan does not check the cargo at its other border
when it first enters Azerbaijan.
The Georgian paper 24-Saati asks if there is a suspicion or ways of
identifying and detecting such goods, why doesn't the Azeri
administration detects such goods upon their arrival in Azeri
territory and turn it back or confiscate at that time.
Georgian media tries to explain the situation with two arguments:
Azerbaijan avoids spoiling its relationship either with Russia or
Turkmenistan and secondly Azerbaijan wants to involve Georgia in the
blockade of Armenia.
Some analysts however think that Azeri activities in blocking cargo
bound for Armenia may be an indication that Azerbaijan is preparing
for war to retake the Karabakh province.
Considering history, it is ironic that now during a time of peace
Azerbaijan is seeking stricter trade measures against Armenia. The
circulation of goods between two countries via Georgia did not stop
even during the hottest battles between the two countries.
March 7 2005
Noghaideli succeeds in lifting railway blockade
By M. Alkhazashvili
New Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli has managed to persuade President
Ilham Aliev of Azerbaijan to lift the quasi railway blockade from
Azerbaijan to Georgia.
The breakthrough happened during the recent working visit of PM
Noghaideli to Azerbaijan and his personal negotiations with President
Aliev during which he promised to lift the blockade in the coming
days.
Misunderstanding concerning cargo transported from Azerbaijan to
Georgia started in 2004. The Azeri leadership stated then that some
cargo entering Georgia from Azerbaijan was being rerouted to Armenia.
By detaining railway freight cars at the border, Azeribaijan hoped to
identify any goods being sent to Armenia via Georgia. But this
activity unintentionally resulted in serious damage to the
reliability of the South Caucasus transport corridor. Georgian
importers incurred major losses and many international forwarders
started exploring other for cargo transportation.
However Friday's visit of Noghaideli to Azerbaijan and his meeting
with Aliev proved that the relationship with the two countries is
still very good. President Aliev mentioned that there is a better
understanding and support between Georgian and Azerbaijan, reports
24-Saati.
Still this temporary misunderstanding occurred and as the head of
Georgian Railways, David Onoprishvili, says, because the delays of
freight at the Azeri border, Georgia has lost more than USD 1
million.
Due to an agreement signed by both Baku and Tbilisi, it is clear that
transiting of goods bound for Armenia via the Azeri-Georgian border
is prohibited. It is also a fact that some of the goods entering
Georgia from Azerbaijan ended up in Armenia. But a question remained
as to why Azerbaijan does not check the cargo at its other border
when it first enters Azerbaijan.
The Georgian paper 24-Saati asks if there is a suspicion or ways of
identifying and detecting such goods, why doesn't the Azeri
administration detects such goods upon their arrival in Azeri
territory and turn it back or confiscate at that time.
Georgian media tries to explain the situation with two arguments:
Azerbaijan avoids spoiling its relationship either with Russia or
Turkmenistan and secondly Azerbaijan wants to involve Georgia in the
blockade of Armenia.
Some analysts however think that Azeri activities in blocking cargo
bound for Armenia may be an indication that Azerbaijan is preparing
for war to retake the Karabakh province.
Considering history, it is ironic that now during a time of peace
Azerbaijan is seeking stricter trade measures against Armenia. The
circulation of goods between two countries via Georgia did not stop
even during the hottest battles between the two countries.