"The welfare of Armenia would have a positive impact on both Georgia’s welfare and the settlement of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict"
TBILISI (Armenpress/PanArmenian.net)–Meeting with his Georgian counterpart Nino Burjanadze–the chairman of Armenian parliament Armen Khachatrian raised the issue of re-establishing railway communication through Abkhazian territory.
He explained that the present railway blockade of Armenia hampers economic development of the state and that the economy of Armenia must be considered in the context of the development of Caucasus.
"The welfare of Armenia would have a positive impact on both Georgia’s welfare and the settlement of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict," he said
Burjanadze noted that although Georgia had a strict position to not re-establish the railway communication–it now holds more of an attitude of compromise: "The re-establishment of the railway communication in Abhkazia would be possible if a parallel process of returning refugees to the region were in progress," Burjanadze stated.
According to her–"many things depend on the attitude of Russia who must finally start fulfillment of its commitmen’s and not take the role of instigator in the conflict."
Speaking to members of the Georgian parliament–Khachatrian said he interested in establishing stability in the South Caucasus and creating conditions for regional security.
He iterated Armenia’s position towards resolving regional conflicts has not changed–that they should be resolved through political negotiations and peaceful means. To do so–he stressed–particularities of each conflict should be studied and taken into consideration to seek solutions that would be acceptable to conflicting sides.
He also praised the inter-parliamentary agreemen’s signed between Armenia and Georgia–describing these agreemen’s as a catalyst for further development.
Khachatrian also stressed the importance of safe and reliable transport communications between Armenia and Georgia–calling for more efforts to increase bilateral trade. He emphasized that Georgia’s plays a key role for Armenia’securing the only route for it to connect with other countries.