Aravot , Armenia
Dec 28 2017
Serzh Sargsyan’s Tbilisi message – Batono Margvelashvili: “Georgia must use Armenia’s potential”
by Emma Gabriyelyan
[Armenian News note: the below is translated from the Russian edition of Aravot]
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, together with his wife, arrived in Georgia for an official visit on 25 December. A face-to-face conversation between presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Giorgi Margvelashvili started in the Georgian president’s residence after the official welcoming ceremony. It was followed by broadened Armenian-Georgian negotiations at the top level with delegations of the two countries participating. Presidents made statements for the press thereafter.
Serzh Sargsyan said in his speech that there were numerous promising projects on the bilateral agenda and confirmed his readiness to develop cooperation with Georgia: “With my Georgian counterpart, we discussed today a broadening trade and economic agenda, paying particular attention first and foremost to the ongoing cooperation in such important spheres as energy and transport, as well as development of the transit potential of the countries and its efficient use… [ellipsis as published] Creation of joint industrial enterprises was also on the agenda of our meeting and I said that, in my opinion, the Georgian side should use Armenia’s potential and the existence of free economic zones in order to sell their products in the markets of the Eurasian Economic Union [EEU],” Sargsyan noted. He said that in this sense, any company registered in Armenia could be very useful. “I would particularly like to focus on the new free economic zone set up on the border with Iran and it offers big opportunities for exporting Georgian goods and services also to another financially reliable market – the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Sargsyan said. He reminded that at all negotiations, Armenia always took efforts to obtain documents, statements, and wording that would by no means damage Georgia’s interests. Maintaining such a position by both Armenian and Georgian sides can only bring benefits to both nations.
Thus, Yerevan stated that relations between the states are based on a firm foundation at the top level and, as Serzh Sargsyan noted, “are duly described as fraternal”. In the year, when the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Georgia is marked, Yerevan and Tbilisi stated a high level of cooperation in all spheres of mutual interest.
“We are not just neighbours”, Giorgi Margvelashvili assures
The fact that Yerevan expects Tbilisi to use Armenia’s potential probably means that Serzh Sargsyan regards Armenian-Georgian relations in a new context and expects relations of new quality and level from Tbilisi. This is an extremely important message. The Georgian president’s delicate hint was no accident in this context. The Armenpress [news agency] reported from Tbilisi that Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili noted at the briefing for journalists held after his meeting with Serzh Sargsyan: “Armenia’s membership in the EEU and Georgia’s signing of the Association Agreement with the EU have not reduced the level of economic cooperation between Armenia and Georgia.
An official dinner was given on 25 December on behalf of Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili and [first lady] Ms Maka Chichua to honour Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Mrs Rita Sargsyan, who were paying an official visit to Georgia. Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Giorgi Margvelashvili raised toasts, in which they touched on Armenian-Georgian intergovernmental relations based on respect and mutual trust as well as on centuries-long friendship between the Armenian and Georgian nations and prospects for strengthening bilateral ties in all fields that are of mutual interest.
“We are not just neighbours. Traditions of our cooperation have a history of thousand years and it is developing successfully now too. The secret of our friendship lies not only in the legendary brotherhood of Kartlos [legendary ancestor of all Georgians] and Hayos [legendary ancestor of all Armenians, who were brothers]. Our cultures, arts, folklores, and traditions are mutually connected and history is full of examples of mutual help. This is what provides us with the opportunity to overcome numerous trials, uniting us in the face of numerous challenges and preserving the uniqueness our nations are so proud of,” the Georgian President noted.
Margvelashvili assured that Georgia appreciated and fostered friendship with Armenia and congratulated his Armenian counterpart on the signing of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement with the EU: “Georgia will always promote peace, stability, and cooperation in the region. We are ready today and will be ready in the future to share with our friends benefits of our European and Euro-Atlantic integration and the opportunities Georgia is creating in terms of cooperation between regions and continents”.
Will Armenia finally get rid of Verkhny Lars?
It is worth noting that Serzh Sargsyan’s visit to Tbilisi took place in a very interesting atmosphere. A statement was made in Tbilisi last week that Armenia can transport goods from Russia via [Georgia’s breakaway] South Ossetia. The agreement signed between Georgia and the Swiss SGS company allows transportation of goods to Russia along the Qazbegi-Verkhny Lars road [in reality, Kvirikashvili mentioned the Roki tunnel that connects Georgia’s breakaway South Ossetia with Russia] in force majeure situations, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili said in his speech in parliament. According to him, the agreement is in line with Georgia’s interests: “We signed it, because this is in our country’s interests and Turkey, Armenia and other countries that are using this country’s transit potential can use this corridor in force majeure situations. However, I would like to reiterate that the agreement was signed unilaterally. But we are continuing talks, because certain conditions Russia had put forward are unacceptable to us,” Kvirikashvili said. In other words, Turkey, Armenia and other countries can use the transport corridor via Tskhinvali (the Roki tunnel) in force majeure situations.
The Georgian prime minister’s statement caused indignation in Georgian opposition circles. In particular, representatives of the United National Movement party led by former Georgian President [Mikheil Saakashvili] said that the use of the corridor by third countries violated the 2011 agreement, which served to remove Georgia’s veto on the Russian Federation’s joining the WTO.
Georgia and Russia reached in 2011 an agreement on mechanism for customs administration and monitoring of cargoes on the borders, when the Georgian side (under President Saakashvili) withdrew its veto on Russian Federation’s joining the WTO. The condition was that trade corridors from Russia were established across the territories of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region (South Ossetia), which the Georgian government does not control, and the sides invited international mediators to control flows of cargoes and mark them. It was the Swiss SGS company that was chosen.
In other words, Russia and Georgia are trying to overcome some complicated political and economic problems and cooperate in the fields of trade and communications. And Tbilisi intends to open corridors to Armenia too, if force majeure situations take shape at Verkhny Lars. The Georgian opposition is now urging the government to disclose details of the agreement signed with the Swiss company on 19 December. At the same time, the Georgian opposition’s dissatisfaction has caused enthusiasm in Azerbaijan.
Major importance of Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili’s statement becomes evident if we take into account how important the problem of an alternative to Verkhny Lars is for Armenia. Tbilisi is effectively offering Armenia an alternative route [for transporting goods from and to Russia] and it is possible that Georgia’s decision will be criticised in Baku and Ankara. It will become clear later, whether this step by the Georgian government is a result of negotiations between Yerevan and Tbilisi. A new situation that has taken shape around Armenia has most likely played a certain role here: By all appearances, the signing of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement between Armenia and the EU is a new stage in Armenia’s European integration and Armenia’s increased role and importance in the regional context have shaped a new situation. It cannot be ruled out either that an agreement was reached at the Tbilisi-Brussels level. It is a fact that Armenia has a chance of getting rid of Verkhny Lars.