October 3, 2012 - 14:13 AMT
Russia may sacrifice Armenia’s interests for Georgia ties - expert

Billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili-led opposition’s victory in Georgia’s parliamentary elections and the prospect of normalization of Russian-Georgian ties may have a negative impact on Armenia, a political expert believes.

“Georgia will be demanding to be “paid” to normalize ties, with the national interests of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Armenia set as a price,” Levon Shirinyan told a news conference in Yerevan.

“Though not absolutely certain about the scenario described above, I could recall historic precedents where Russia sacrificed Armenia’s interests to boost ties with Georgia,” the expert said, citing Javakhk’s transfer to Georgia to gain the latter’s favor.