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Georgia positive on Abkhaz railway, says PM
By Keti Sikharulidze
The Messenger, Georgia
June 16 2005
Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli said on Tuesday that Georgia is
"now positive" regarding the reopening of the Sochi-Tbilisi railway
via Abkhazia.
Speaking with journalists before addressing 41st CIS Railway Council
taking place in Tbilisi, PM Noghaideli noted that Georgia had
previously been against reopening the line, but said that "the new
authorities have recently taken a more positive stance on this issue."
Nevertheless, he said there were a number of problems connected with
the rail link's reopening, including first and foremost "the safety
of IDPs in the Gali region, so we have to do a lot of work before
realizing the project."
One important issue that will need to be discussed before an agreement
can be reached is who is to pay for reconstructing the Abkhaz-Georgian
section of the railway, which the Head of the Russian Railway Company
Genadi Fadeev said would cost at least USD 100 million.
Speaking in Tbilisi on Wednesday, Fadeev added that "this cost will
further increase if we include rehabilitation of [the portion of the
railway] over the Enguri river," as quoted by civil.ge.
Assuming the sides agree to reopen the connection, "I think all
participating countries - Russia, Georgia, also Armenia and to a
certain extent Azerbaijan as well - should fund the implementation
of this project," he stated, adding that Russia was prepared to do
all it could to speed up the process.
Chair of the Armenian Railway Department Ararat Khrimyan expressed
Armenia's willingness to join the project to restore railway
communications, providing Russia and Georgia were able to reach
an agreement.
"If the project is real, we shall certainly consider it. The route
is necessary for everybody," he stated.
Chair of Georgian Railways Davit Onoprishvili suggested that an
agreement would indeed be reached, and that "sooner or later" the
railway would be reopened.
"We are ready [to launch the rehabilitation process]. Today, groups
are meeting in Moscow to negotiate the technical issues. The fact is
that this railway should be reopened sooner or later and Georgia will
benefit," he said, as quoted by civil.ge.
Indeed, as PM Noghaideli noted, a task force is currently meeting in
Moscow to discuss the issue within the framework of the June 15-16
talks on reopening the railway and the return of Georgian refugees
to Gali.
State Minister for Conflict Resolution Giorgi Khaindrava, who is
leading the Georgian delegation at the talks, said that the task
force has been set up to calculate the full costs of the project.
Back in Tbilisi at the 41st CIS Railway Council, representatives from
all twelve CIS countries as well as associate members Bulgaria, Latvia,
Lithuania, Estonia, and Finland discussed a number of railway issues
including the safety of carriages and a number of technical issues.
The most important issue for Georgia was the discussion of the
Poti-Kavkaz railway-ferry link between Georgia and Russia, which
operated only twice and then was terminated by the Russian party.
According to the agreement signed in January the Russian side undertook
obligations to operate the ferry regularly, but as Onoprishvili noted,
the service took place once in March and once in April before being
stopped.
"We think that this is unacceptable and the issue should be solved,"
he told journalists.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
By Keti Sikharulidze
The Messenger, Georgia
June 16 2005
Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli said on Tuesday that Georgia is
"now positive" regarding the reopening of the Sochi-Tbilisi railway
via Abkhazia.
Speaking with journalists before addressing 41st CIS Railway Council
taking place in Tbilisi, PM Noghaideli noted that Georgia had
previously been against reopening the line, but said that "the new
authorities have recently taken a more positive stance on this issue."
Nevertheless, he said there were a number of problems connected with
the rail link's reopening, including first and foremost "the safety
of IDPs in the Gali region, so we have to do a lot of work before
realizing the project."
One important issue that will need to be discussed before an agreement
can be reached is who is to pay for reconstructing the Abkhaz-Georgian
section of the railway, which the Head of the Russian Railway Company
Genadi Fadeev said would cost at least USD 100 million.
Speaking in Tbilisi on Wednesday, Fadeev added that "this cost will
further increase if we include rehabilitation of [the portion of the
railway] over the Enguri river," as quoted by civil.ge.
Assuming the sides agree to reopen the connection, "I think all
participating countries - Russia, Georgia, also Armenia and to a
certain extent Azerbaijan as well - should fund the implementation
of this project," he stated, adding that Russia was prepared to do
all it could to speed up the process.
Chair of the Armenian Railway Department Ararat Khrimyan expressed
Armenia's willingness to join the project to restore railway
communications, providing Russia and Georgia were able to reach
an agreement.
"If the project is real, we shall certainly consider it. The route
is necessary for everybody," he stated.
Chair of Georgian Railways Davit Onoprishvili suggested that an
agreement would indeed be reached, and that "sooner or later" the
railway would be reopened.
"We are ready [to launch the rehabilitation process]. Today, groups
are meeting in Moscow to negotiate the technical issues. The fact is
that this railway should be reopened sooner or later and Georgia will
benefit," he said, as quoted by civil.ge.
Indeed, as PM Noghaideli noted, a task force is currently meeting in
Moscow to discuss the issue within the framework of the June 15-16
talks on reopening the railway and the return of Georgian refugees
to Gali.
State Minister for Conflict Resolution Giorgi Khaindrava, who is
leading the Georgian delegation at the talks, said that the task
force has been set up to calculate the full costs of the project.
Back in Tbilisi at the 41st CIS Railway Council, representatives from
all twelve CIS countries as well as associate members Bulgaria, Latvia,
Lithuania, Estonia, and Finland discussed a number of railway issues
including the safety of carriages and a number of technical issues.
The most important issue for Georgia was the discussion of the
Poti-Kavkaz railway-ferry link between Georgia and Russia, which
operated only twice and then was terminated by the Russian party.
According to the agreement signed in January the Russian side undertook
obligations to operate the ferry regularly, but as Onoprishvili noted,
the service took place once in March and once in April before being
stopped.
"We think that this is unacceptable and the issue should be solved,"
he told journalists.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress