Georgia Not Interested in Isolation of Armenia at All

Armenia and Georgia enjoy excellent political relations. Visits on high level have become a norm; the sittings of the Georgian-Armenian intergovernmental committee on economic cooperation are regularly held. This year the 5th sitting of the committee will be held in Batumi this year.

The economic contacts are developing dynamically and with the strengthening of the economies of both states they tend to intensify. This is the demand of the market. When products are competitive, for example the Armenian concrete in Georgia, it will meet a ready sale. A state should create normal conditions for business. Georgia has created the most favorable conditions for the transit of the Armenian export and import via its territory. An agreement on cancellation of transport tax for drivers from both sides was signed lately.

Georgia serves on no single military-political bloc (GUAM is not a military-political bloc), while Armenia is a CSTO member. However this fact by no means influences our friendly relations.

Georgia pursues multisided foreign policy. We are not merely geographical neighbors with Russia. We have great number of contact points at historical, cultural and human level. There is nothing strange in the fact that Georgia heads for the West, as far as I know, Russia's new policy is oriented towards western democratic values as well.

The unsettled conflicts in Georgia and the presence of the Azeri Diaspora are by no means bound with the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement.

The relations between the churches should be determined at the meetings of the church hierarchs. The Embassy represents the temporal power and does not interfere in religious matters. As for the cliché "Christian peoples/states surrounded by the Islamic world", this is an anachronism of the medieval age. As far as I know Christian Armenia enjoys very best relations the Islamic Republic of Iran. As far as I know, Christian Armenia has excellent relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran!

The social and economic problems of Samtskhe-Javakheti are like those the other mountainous regions of Georgia experience. Despite all this, the Georgian government intends to spend one third of the funds rendered by the MCC on the building of roads in Javakheti. Schools are being repaired in the region. We are hopeful that the rich Armenian Diaspora will make a contribution to the industrialization of Javakheti.

Economic projects always bear a certain political load. Georgia is not interested in Armenia's isolation, via transport infrastructure, for example. You have never heard Georgian journalist say something like "Armenia and Iran isolate Georgia with Russia's assistance" in case the gas pipeline from Iran has a small diameter and does not extend to the Georgian border, have you?"