PAPER SEES ARMENIAN LEADER’S GEORGIAN VISIT AS BETRAYAL OF RUSSIA
Aravot, Yerevan
23 Oct 04
Text of Tigran Avetisyan’s report entitled “An obvious misfortune” by
the Armenian newspaper Aravot on 23 October
Robert Kocharyan’s official visit to Georgia is a very difficult
one. The reason for that is that during the visit he is forced to
“betray” Moscow a little. But as it is known such things make our
senior “partner” very nervous. For instance, under today’s protocol,
Robert Kocharyan laid wreaths at the grave of the heroes who died
fighting for “Georgia’s territorial integrity “. It is known that a
great majority of these heroes were killed in Abkhazia when they were
fighting against the Abkhaz separatists, that is, against Russia. It
turns out that the Armenian leader showed his respect for the memory
of those who fought against his country’s partner, Russia, and by this
he indirectly recognized Tbilisi’s power over Abkhazia. But there is
yet another aspect of the problem.
A difficult situation can be avoided if one tackles things with
circumspection. It is no secret that different state officials voice
opinions about Armenia’s foreign policy which seldom coincide.
Let us say, a top Foreign Ministry official said that we should have
good relations with all our neighbours and especially with Georgia,
because the main roads connecting Armenia with the outside world go
through this country. Having such a clever diplomat is not enough to
keep us happy. Then one deputy said that it is necessary to restore
the Yerevan-Sukhumi-Tbilisi railway. What do you think Tbilisi’s
attitude to us will be after such a statement from the Armenian top
official? Although such statements complicate relations between
Armenia and Georgia (which are conditioned by a third party) they are
also evidence of the fact that the Armenian political thinking has
depreciated a lot.
Let us try to understand: who is the above mentioned call for the
opening of the railway directed at? Is it Georgia? But even a baby can
see that until relations between Georgia and Abkhazia improve, Tbilisi
will be unable to open the railway irrespective of the statements by
“prominent” Armenian officials.
In that case, was the call directed at Moscow? As awful as this might
sound, that was probably the case. It turns out that the Armenian
parliament demands from Russia that it enter forcefully into Georgia
and via its territory to establish a railway link between Armenia and
Russia. Now imagine the kind of treatment received by Kocharyan in
Tbilisi, if Armenia does not keep in check “deep” political ideas of
some politicians.