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Georgia Can Isolate Armenia Without The US Help

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  • Georgia Can Isolate Armenia Without The US Help

    GEORGIA CAN ISOLATE ARMENIA WITHOUT THE US HELP

    Regnum Agency, Russia
    June 17 2006

    "If the US companies refuse to finance the project of the
    Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku railway construction, as the House of
    Representatives Committee of the US Congress has advised them to do,
    there are other countries and other institutions, such as Eurobank,
    the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Black Sea
    Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB), IFC, and many others who can take
    part in the project," the Georgian Minister of Economic Development
    Irakly Chogovadze commented to the press on the decision of the House
    of Representatives committee on financial services to ban financing
    of the mentioned project with the US moneys.

    If the project of construction the Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku
    railway will be economically sound, it will be implemented, Irakly
    Chogovadze declared. Today, the minister noted, the work on the
    project is going through its first stage, until the consortium for its
    implementation is created and the required funds are found. The project
    cost is estimated at $400mln, so the issue of the US participation
    in it has not even been discussed yet. Georgia's state minister on
    reform coordination issues Kakha Bendukidze told journalists that the
    project was quite interesting and could be economically sound. However,
    it could only be realized in the long term, since the calculations
    that were submitted on the project hardly look convincing.

    Issues of the railway construction, including the one of its technical
    and economic assessments prepared by the Turkish Yuksel Domonik Company
    are expected to be discussed at the meeting of Azerbaijan, Georgia,
    and Turkey representatives that will be held soon in Kazakhstan.

    The railway construction project involves building the 98 kilometers
    long Kars-Akhalkalaki railroad and renovation of the railway section
    of the Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi rout.

    The House of Representatives committee on financial assistance has
    recently advised not to finance the Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku
    railway construction by-passing the existing but currently
    non-operative due to the closure of the Armenian-Turkish border
    Kars-Giumri-Tbilisi-Baku railroad.

    Earlier, a pro-Armenian lobby in the US Congress headed by Congressman
    Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) addressed a letter
    to the State Secretary Condoleezza Rice appealing to her to refrain
    from financing the project that is conflicting with the long-term
    Washington interests in the region.

    A number of European politicians also commented on the inexpediency
    of this particular project and any other communication project that
    would go around Armenia. They contend that Turkey has to normalize
    its relations with all neighboring countries, including Armenia,
    before it accesses the EU. This normalization should involve opening
    the border with Armenia.

    Armenian specialists lean to the view that constructing a railway
    from Turkey to Georgia and then to Azerbaijan around Armenia will
    terminate Armenia's communication development and make its isolation
    complete. Besides, the Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi railway construction
    project is not included in the international TRACECA program. It
    stipulates the necessity of involvement of the Kars-Gyumri-Tbilisi
    railroad.

    Armenian government authorities have also spoken against the project.

    Particularly, Armenian Minister of Transport and Communications
    Andranik Manukyan announced earlier that Armenia will do the utmost
    to resist the Kars-Akhalkalaki railroad construction since it is not
    beneficial not only to Armenia but also to the whole region.

    Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan said that Azerbaijan
    and Georgia have no moral right to allocate funds for the
    Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku railway construction. Investing in the
    construction is senseless, for the countries participating in the
    project are already connected by a railway communication through the
    Armenian territory, he argued.
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