Security factor must be considered in Abkhazian railway reopening: Georgian deputy

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 24, ARMENPRESS: Armenpress News Agency had a talk with the representative of the Georgian Dream Party, the deputy of the Georgian Parliament Otar Chrdileli about the problems of the Caucasian region, the Armenian-Georgian relations and the domestic life in Georgia.

- Mr. Chrdileli, Caucasus is a peculiar region not only for the reason that here Europe borders with Asia, but also for the fact that the people living here have always supported each other. Today there are hot points in Caucasus. Notwithstanding the international efforts, the conflicts cannot be settled for already twenty years. What is the main reason for that?

- I think, the main reason for the conflicts is the interest of the foreign powers. There are foreign powers, which try to appropriate all the natural goods of the Caucasian nations.

- The Georgian Government does not have any unequivocal position concerning the restoration of the railway communication between Georgia and Russia through Abkhazia. I think, in this issue the interest of Armenia is obvious. This economic program is beneficial also for Georgia. Under these conditions, why does the certain part of the Georgian population and the authorities oppose to this program?

- For the Georgian side, certainly, the implementation of the beneficial economic program is attractive, but the issue of the national security should be in the first place. There are several risk factors in the abovementioned railway program, which should be properly analyzed. It is worth mentioning that the implementation of the program will bring to the considerable decrease of the role of the Georgian ports and that should be taken into account. In general, many issues should be taken into account. The two sides are working on this program and I think that it would not be difficult for them to find a common denominator. The most important thing is to make right conclusions. (THE FULL INTERVIEW IS AVAILABLE IN ARMENIAN)

Interviewed by Hrachya Martirosyan