December 6, 2004 - 22:42 AMT
RUSSIA TRIES TO PUT PRESSURE ON GEORGIA VIA AZERBAIJAN

In the opinion of "Novye Izvestia" commentator Mekhman Gafarly the transport war between Azerbaijan and Georgia has little to do with the Armenian-Azeri conflict. As reported by the newspaper, "being discontent with the policy pursued by Mikhail Saakashvili, Russia tries to exert pressure upon Georgia via Azerbaijan." She has succeeded in it as Baku is cautious towards Saakashvili: his coming to power is the result of a revolution. If in Tbilisi the events, which took place on November 23, 2003 and ended with President Shevardnadze 's resignation, are called "rose revolution", in Baku and Moscow they are named a coup d'etat, the source says. It should be reminded that just on the day of "the Georgian revolution" Ilham Aliyev was maybe the only one out of the world leaders, who fully supported E. Shevardnadze.