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Rezonansi, Georgia
March 22 2013
'Nationals': Abkhaz railroad will turn Georgia into military bridgehead
[Translated from Georgian]
Paata Zakareishvili, the Georgian state minister for reintegration,
has stated that the opening of the Yerevan-Tbilisi-Sokhumi railroad
"has not gone beyond the idea stage." The opposition [United National
Movement party], meanwhile, has discussed the threat of Georgia
becoming a military bridgehead if the railroad resumes functioning.
"Even if the entire world were to wish for the railroad through
Abkhazia to open, unless Russia and Georgia agree, the railroad will
not operate," Zakareishvili stated in Parliament during the joint
session of the Temporary Commission for the Restoration of Territorial
Integrity and the Committee on Diaspora and Caucasian Issues. During
the session, representatives of the parliamentary minority discussed
negative aspects of opening the railroad.
According to Parliamentary minority [United National Movement] member
Shota Malashkhia [deputy chairman of the Temporary Commission on the
Restoration of Territorial Integrity], every expert in Azerbaijan,
Turkey, and Armenia, is discussing the real threat of the resumption
of hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan. "In this case,
consenting to [the restoration of] the railroad means that we will
become a military bridgehead in the war," Malashkhia said.
It should be noted that on 12 March Russian President Vladimir Putin
first met with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, and later with
Aleksandr Ankvab, the de facto president of Abkhazia. After the
meeting, while talking to journalists, Sargsyan stated that he
received Putin's consent while discussing the reopening of the
railroad through Abkhazia.
"When I was talking with Putin, he told me that he was planning to
meet with the Abkhaz president on the same day, and that he would
definitely discuss the matter with him as well. After this we received
a response saying that the attitude [toward the restoration of the
railroad] was positive, and that more effort should immediately be
devoted to this important goal. I am unable to estimate when all this
might happen," Sargsyan stated.
Caucasian House Director Giorgi Kanashvili told Rezonansi that coming
from the existing reality, despite the parties' interest, the railroad
project is a "long-term issue":
"We have to take into account that the [Winter] Olympic Games are
planned in Sochi in 2014. Correspondingly, this is a hindering factor
for the realization of such projects in the region. Nor is Russia
ready to implement this project. It may be that Sargsyan's and
Ankvab's simultaneous visit to Russia was no coincidence. But I still
think that in terms of realizing the project, we should not expect any
serious steps before 2014. This is a long-term project. Also, many
parties are involved in it. It is not an issue pertaining to
Georgian-Russian or Georgian-Abkhazian relations. Therefore, this is a
long-term project that demands long-term efforts from all parties,"
the expert said.
According to Kanashvili, the parliamentary opposition's arguments
opposing the opening of the railroad are groundless:
"Connecting this project with the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict is
frivolous. Azerbaijan would want to get involved in this issue only if
it felt the route would be used to supply Armenia with military cargo.
No Georgian Government would consent to the transportation of military
hardware to the South Caucasus. Correspondingly, any talk of Georgia
becoming a military bridgehead is completely groundless," Kanashvili
Said.
Conflict expert Gogi Khutsishvili opined that the situation is dire in
terms of Georgian-Abkhazian relations, and this can be assumed to be
the main hindering factor for this project:
"Negotiations concerning specific issues have been started between
Georgia and Russia but Georgians and Abkhazians have completely
severed all relations. And in order to realize this project, a minimal
degree of trust between Tbilisi and Sokhumi is necessary. It will not
be possible to realize this project without trust. This is more of a
future project. Russia's and Armenia's interest is ultimately not
decisive here," Khutsishvili said.
Also according to him, discussing the topic of possible hostilities
between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the railroad's context is
unrealistic.
"Theoretically, this risk really does exist. In real terms, however,
many serious factors hinder the resumption of hostilities between
Armenia and Azerbaijan. Nobody is interested in the [Nagornyy]
Karabakh war as this will cause a great Caucasian war and will
completely change the circumstances in the region. That is why they
will try their best not to allow this to happen. This issue of this
threat is raised every year but nonetheless, no one begins a war."
"Georgia will not refrain from resolving its own conflicts because of
a threat. We should think about how the Georgian and Abkhazian sides
can resume relations. We have always maintained that non-recognition
together with inclusion will be the precondition for reconciliation.
We manage non-recognition but fail at inclusion. This would constitute
real inclusion of the Abkhazian and Georgian sides in a joint project.
This would create the precondition for rapprochement and conflict
resolution. When active communication between the Georgian and
Abkhazian sides begins, then the issue of the railroad will arise.
Until then, no matter what degree of interest Russia and Armenia may
show, they will not be able to solve [this problem] without us,
unilaterally," Khutsishvili said.
[Translated from Georgian]
March 22 2013
'Nationals': Abkhaz railroad will turn Georgia into military bridgehead
[Translated from Georgian]
Paata Zakareishvili, the Georgian state minister for reintegration,
has stated that the opening of the Yerevan-Tbilisi-Sokhumi railroad
"has not gone beyond the idea stage." The opposition [United National
Movement party], meanwhile, has discussed the threat of Georgia
becoming a military bridgehead if the railroad resumes functioning.
"Even if the entire world were to wish for the railroad through
Abkhazia to open, unless Russia and Georgia agree, the railroad will
not operate," Zakareishvili stated in Parliament during the joint
session of the Temporary Commission for the Restoration of Territorial
Integrity and the Committee on Diaspora and Caucasian Issues. During
the session, representatives of the parliamentary minority discussed
negative aspects of opening the railroad.
According to Parliamentary minority [United National Movement] member
Shota Malashkhia [deputy chairman of the Temporary Commission on the
Restoration of Territorial Integrity], every expert in Azerbaijan,
Turkey, and Armenia, is discussing the real threat of the resumption
of hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan. "In this case,
consenting to [the restoration of] the railroad means that we will
become a military bridgehead in the war," Malashkhia said.
It should be noted that on 12 March Russian President Vladimir Putin
first met with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, and later with
Aleksandr Ankvab, the de facto president of Abkhazia. After the
meeting, while talking to journalists, Sargsyan stated that he
received Putin's consent while discussing the reopening of the
railroad through Abkhazia.
"When I was talking with Putin, he told me that he was planning to
meet with the Abkhaz president on the same day, and that he would
definitely discuss the matter with him as well. After this we received
a response saying that the attitude [toward the restoration of the
railroad] was positive, and that more effort should immediately be
devoted to this important goal. I am unable to estimate when all this
might happen," Sargsyan stated.
Caucasian House Director Giorgi Kanashvili told Rezonansi that coming
from the existing reality, despite the parties' interest, the railroad
project is a "long-term issue":
"We have to take into account that the [Winter] Olympic Games are
planned in Sochi in 2014. Correspondingly, this is a hindering factor
for the realization of such projects in the region. Nor is Russia
ready to implement this project. It may be that Sargsyan's and
Ankvab's simultaneous visit to Russia was no coincidence. But I still
think that in terms of realizing the project, we should not expect any
serious steps before 2014. This is a long-term project. Also, many
parties are involved in it. It is not an issue pertaining to
Georgian-Russian or Georgian-Abkhazian relations. Therefore, this is a
long-term project that demands long-term efforts from all parties,"
the expert said.
According to Kanashvili, the parliamentary opposition's arguments
opposing the opening of the railroad are groundless:
"Connecting this project with the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict is
frivolous. Azerbaijan would want to get involved in this issue only if
it felt the route would be used to supply Armenia with military cargo.
No Georgian Government would consent to the transportation of military
hardware to the South Caucasus. Correspondingly, any talk of Georgia
becoming a military bridgehead is completely groundless," Kanashvili
Said.
Conflict expert Gogi Khutsishvili opined that the situation is dire in
terms of Georgian-Abkhazian relations, and this can be assumed to be
the main hindering factor for this project:
"Negotiations concerning specific issues have been started between
Georgia and Russia but Georgians and Abkhazians have completely
severed all relations. And in order to realize this project, a minimal
degree of trust between Tbilisi and Sokhumi is necessary. It will not
be possible to realize this project without trust. This is more of a
future project. Russia's and Armenia's interest is ultimately not
decisive here," Khutsishvili said.
Also according to him, discussing the topic of possible hostilities
between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the railroad's context is
unrealistic.
"Theoretically, this risk really does exist. In real terms, however,
many serious factors hinder the resumption of hostilities between
Armenia and Azerbaijan. Nobody is interested in the [Nagornyy]
Karabakh war as this will cause a great Caucasian war and will
completely change the circumstances in the region. That is why they
will try their best not to allow this to happen. This issue of this
threat is raised every year but nonetheless, no one begins a war."
"Georgia will not refrain from resolving its own conflicts because of
a threat. We should think about how the Georgian and Abkhazian sides
can resume relations. We have always maintained that non-recognition
together with inclusion will be the precondition for reconciliation.
We manage non-recognition but fail at inclusion. This would constitute
real inclusion of the Abkhazian and Georgian sides in a joint project.
This would create the precondition for rapprochement and conflict
resolution. When active communication between the Georgian and
Abkhazian sides begins, then the issue of the railroad will arise.
Until then, no matter what degree of interest Russia and Armenia may
show, they will not be able to solve [this problem] without us,
unilaterally," Khutsishvili said.
[Translated from Georgian]