TBILISI: Georgia Opening Russian Border Crossing For Armenia’s Sake

GEORGIA OPENING RUSSIAN BORDER CROSSING FOR ARMENIA’S SAKE – MP

Rustavi-2 TV
Feb 28 2010
Georgia

Georgia has agreed to open the Qazbegi-Verkhniy Lars crossing on
the Georgian-Russian border for the sake of Armenia, which needs a
land route linking it to Russia, its main trading partner, a senior
Georgian MP has said. The crossing – which Russia unilaterally closed
in July 2006 – will be opened to limited traffic from 1 March.

In remarks broadcast by Rustavi-2 TV on 28 February, Irakli Kavtaradze,
the deputy chairman of the Georgian parliamentary foreign relations
committee said:

"We had been holding negotiations about opening this crossing at
Armenia’s request. The crossing is truly of vital importance to them.

Let me remind you that a large portion of their overland cargoes
can be transported on this route [from Russia through Georgia]. It
was precisely this that was the main guiding factor in our taking
a positive approach to this issue [i.e. agreeing to opening the
crossing]."

In her introduction to Kavtaradze’s report, Rustavi-2’s presenter
noted that Georgian visas would not be issued at Qazbegi and said
that Georgia itself "expects no economic or political benefit from
the opening of the crossing".