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TBILISI: Armenia Opposes Turkish-Georgian-Azeri Railway Project

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  • TBILISI: Armenia Opposes Turkish-Georgian-Azeri Railway Project

    ARMENIA OPPOSES TURKISH-GEORGIAN-AZERI RAILWAY PROJECT

    Civil Georgia, Georgia
    Aug 31 2005

    Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian said on August 30 that
    teh construction of Kars (Turkey)-Akhalkalaki (Georgia) railway
    link, which will connect Turkey to Azerbaijan via Georgia, is
    "economically senseless" as a railway between Kars-Gyumri (Armenia),
    linking Turkish railway with Armenian and further with Georgia already
    exists, Armenian media sources reported.

    But currently the Kars-Gyumri railway is not operational because
    of the trade blockade imposed on Armenia by Turkey and Azerbaijan.
    Meanwhile, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey are in negotiations over
    construction of an alternative railway between Kars and Akhalkalaki -
    a southern Georgia town in the predominately ethnic Armenian region
    of Samtskhe-Javakheti.

    "The time will come and regional conflicts will be settled. The
    borders will be opened and then we will have two parallel railways in
    the region, one of which will become useless. It is not difficult to
    guess which one - the one which does not yet exist," Vardan Oskanian
    said at a news briefing in Yerevan.

    "We will oppose the implementation of this project... and will do so
    mainly through advocating with international organizations that the
    project is pointless," the Armenian Foreign Minister said.

    He also said that Armenia will lobby in favor of including the issue
    of reopening borders with Armenia in Turkey's EU accession talks.
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