BY ARA KHACHATOURIAN
As Armenia’s Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan on Tuesday met with Georgia’s Ambassador to Yerevan Giorgi Saganelidze and praised Armenia-Georgia relations, the newly-minted Georgian Prime Minister, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, said that his country was ready to sell a 25-percent stake in Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation (GOGC), which transports Russian natural gas to Armenia. Baku’s state energy company was quick to express interest in that crucial stake.
Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR said on Monday that it was interested in obtaining shares in the GOGC, a move that will heighten the conflict between Yerevan and Baku, and will severely call into question Tbilisi’s motives in advancing its regional policies, which, Saganelidze told Karapetyan, are based on “centuries-old friendship between the two peoples.”
Georgia first announced its plans to sell shares in the GOGC back in 2011, after SOCAR offered $500 million for the entire pipeline a year earlier.
Earlier this month, Tbilisi and Yerevan announced the construction of a “Friendship Bridge” along the Georgian-Armenian border. But talks between the two countries this year has focused on a tri-lateral energy transport agreement with Iran that could advance Armenia’s economic viability in the region. Georgia has been dragging its feet on committing to the agreement, placing the future of the project in jeopardy.
Since its independence, Georgia has been advancing a pro-Turkish, pro-Azerbaijani foreign policy in the region, while domestically it continues to curtail the civil liberties of its Armenian population especially in the predominantly Armenian-populated region of Samtskhe Javakheti, or Javakhk as it is commonly known. Official Tbilisi has curtailed Armenians’ right to education, economic prosperity by placing undue obstacles on its Armenian population, which it has also subjected to harassment that have included arrest of Armenian community leaders. At the same time, in the capital, the issue of the Georgian governments claim on Armenian churches remains a front-burner issue for community leaders. Furthermore, Georgian leaders passed on attending the centennial commemorations of the Armenian Genocide in Yerevan, sending a clear signal to Armenians of the country’s unwillingness to recognize an event to which their ancestors had front-row seats a century ago.
The alliances that it has made with Turkey and Azerbaijan, which include a tri-partite military accord, and energy deal with Baku, as well as a partnership in the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, give Georgia an incongruous stake in regional conflict resolution processes. Georgia’s embrace of Azerbaijani and Meskheti Turkish workers, who have been disbursed along the Armenian-Georgian border within the boundaries of Javakhk, pose a clear threat to the well-being of the area’s Armenian population, which is forced to seek its livelihood elsewhere because of the unjust socio-economic policies being advanced by Tbilisi.
Prime Minister Karapetyan seems to be intent on reviving and strengthening Armenia’s economy. Since Georgia is not part of the Eurasian Economic Union or the Collective Security Treaty Organization, both of which purport to protect the interests of its member-states, Yerevan must call Tbilisi to task on its often duplicitous policies, if for nothing else then the “centuries-old friendship between the two peoples.”
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Armenia should apply to the Central Bank of China for financing to build an entire new pipeline from Iran.
As first step, Armenia should take back Javakhk and the territory along Georgia’s current artificial border with the Islamist Nationalist Turkey- all the way to the Black Sea.
Are we waiting for another Georgian Stalin to finish the work of Turkish murderers? It is obvious that Georgia is undermining the security of Armenia and her future.
GEORGIANS ARE LIKE ” CHRISTIAN TURKS” THEY ALWAYS BACKSTAB ARMENIAN ON EVERY OCCSION. THEY ARE UNRELIABLE AND MOODY PEOPLE. NO SOLID PRINCIPAL OR VALUES. DUBBLE FACE . WHILE THEY HARRASING AND RESTRICTING ARMNIAN FREEDOM AND BASIC RIGHTS, THE AZERIS AND TURK ARE SLOWLY TAKING GEORGIA UNDER THEIR CONTROL….THEY WILL SEE MORE PROBLEMS AS THEY GET CLOSER WITH THIS TWO COUNTRIES.
As the only land bridge to Russia and the rest of Europe, land-locked and blockaded Armenia has little choice but to be on as best terms as possible with the spiteful Georgians. If criticism is due then it is should not be aimed at the Armenian govt, but rather at the pathetic little Christian Georgian cousins of ours with a major inferiority complex, and offcource the US/Nato/Turkic/Israeli block which is doing it’s utmost to use Georgia to drive a strategic wedge between Armenia and Russia and thus weaken Russia’s presence in the Caucuses, opening up the gate for Turkish intrusion. The Georgians have always been pathetic in this way, preferring to invite Moslem Turks into their bed while they kick out their Christian orthodox relatives. Jealousy and insecurity are powerful motivators for their nation.
The Iranian border is absolutely not going to cut it. Iran is a moslem nation with 30 million Azeri Turks living in it which are deeply planted at every level of government and clergy. Despite a centuries old friendly Armenian community, Iran does not recognize the Genocide and never will. They will always side with their Moslem and Turkish brethren. Therefore the Georgian border is crucial and good relations with Georgia are even more crucial. Unfortunately.
Plot? No. Sure Georgia hates Russia and therefore has to mistrust their puppet to the south but the truth is Georgia is going down the drain economically just like Armenia and needs all the money and friends it can get.
Georgians are Turks masquerading as Christians.
Why are we complaining that Georgia is looking after it’s interests when armenia gave away it’s infrastructure to Russia. We could have became transit country for Iranian gas but now we have to pay Azeris and Georgians for our Russian gas.