AZERI ENVOY URGES GEORGIA TO RESTICT ARMENIA’S ACCESS TO BLACK SEA
asbarez
Thursday, February 24th, 2011
The Black Sea resort town of Batumi
TBILISI (RFE/RL)-Azerbaijan’s ambassador in Tbilisi on Thursday urged
the Georgian government to restrict Armenia’s commercial access to
Georgia’s Black Sea coast and stop tens of thousands of Armenian
traveling there each year.
Namig Aliyev claimed the Armenian presence in the Black Sea region
of Adzharia is part of a long-term plan to annex it to Armenia. “For
Armenians, access to the Black Sea means the realization of the idea
of a ‘Greater Armenia from sea to sea,'” he told the Azerbaijani APA
news agency.
Adzharia is one of the most popular destinations of Armenian
vacationers attracted by its beaches and inexpensive resorts. An
estimated 70,000 Armenians spent their summer holidays there in 2009.
Capitalizing on this demand, some Armenian businesspeople have
reportedly purchased real state and made other investments in the
local tourism infrastructure in recent years.
“[The Black Sea resorts of] Kobuleti, Batumi and other regions in
Adzharia are being ‘Armenianized,’ Armenians are being resettled
there,” claimed Aliyev. “This is a great threat. Taking into account
the fact that in 2009-2010 hundreds of Adzharian families moved from
Adzharia to other regions of Georgia as migrants, we’ll see where
these processes will lead the Georgians.”
The diplomat added that use of the Georgian Black Sea ports of Batumi
and Poti by Armenian exporters and importers also poses a grave threat
to Georgia’s territorial integrity. “I can understand it when a state
has no access to sea and wants to establish friendship, economic,
commercial, transport relations with other states, in order to have
access to sea,” he said. “But in the case of Armenia … these are
territorial claims.”
According to Aliyev, Armenia will seek to eventually “occupy these
territories both militarily and through migration.” “Azerbaijanis
and Georgians should unite to prevent this policy. Otherwise, we will
not be able to achieve anything,” he said.
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has encouraged Armenian tourism
and investments into his country ever since he swept to power in 2003.
His administration’s radical crackdown on police corruption and
the launch of a regular train service between Yerevan and Batumi
are among the factors behind recent years’ surge in the number of
Armenian tourists.
In an effort to further facilitate transport between their countries,
the Armenian and Georgian governments pledged last week to jointly
operate their border crossings.
Also, a new highway currently built in southern Georgia is expected
to substantially shorten travel between Armenia and the Georgian
Black Sea coast.
From: A. Papazian