Tuesday, 26 January 2010
Verbatim Record of Press Conference of RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan and Georgian Prime Minister Nika Gilauri
RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan – Dear Colleagues, I am glad to welcome my Georgian counterpart to Yerevan. We have agreed on all the target spheres of cooperation. The agenda covered several fields of economic, social and cultural activity. It is my pleasure to state that we have instructed task force representatives to include all concerned arrangements in the minutes of today’s meeting. We are convinced that this sitting of the intergovernmental commission will boost bilateral cooperation.
Georgian Prime Minister Nika Gilauri – I would like to greet you all and thank the Prime Minister of Armenia for such a warm welcome. I express my appreciation of the work done by every task force expert over the past few days. It was a difficult mission which led them to a final agreement over the long-discussed items on the agenda. The 8th sitting of the intergovernmental commission was exciting in that it covered issues from all spheres of cooperation – cultural, social, energy-related and macroeconomic questions. I am hopeful that the next 9th sitting to be held in Georgia will be as much effective and, on this occasion, I wish to extend an invitation to my Armenian counterpart. Once again, I express appreciation and conviction that this visit will build on our traditional ties of friendship.
Question to the Prime Minister of Georgia – To what extend is Georgia interested in the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border from the economic standpoint? Have you made any estimates as to the expected transit revenue losses and, also, are you going to reconsider the tariffs applicable on transit and transportation of goods?
Answer – Any regional conflict settlement is welcome. We welcome the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border and the settlement of bilateral relations. As far as tariffs are concerned, I think the opening of border will not affect them, though all countries in our region inclusive of Georgia and Armenia are supposed to benefit from diversification.
Question to the prime ministers – You have already mentioned those areas involving task force experts. What arrangements have been made in the energy sector?
Prime Minister of Georgia – We maintain sufficiently good relations in the field of energy. There were a number of arrangements made by the time I was minister of energy. Today as well, we have signed an agreement on construction of a 400kV transmission line. I feel it will benefit both Armenia and Georgia.
Prime Minister of Armenia – It was a key measure featuring on the 2010 agenda of my government. Appropriate funding will be earmarked, and I am convinced that engineering works will be provided a significant momentum this year.
Question to the Prime Minister of Georgia – What do you think of Armenia’s role in the settlement of Russian-Georgian relations?
Answer – I would like to see a role to be played by Russia itself. Russia has imposed restrictions on a number of fields. As to the opening of the Upper Lars border checkpoint, I believe it will be to the advantage of Armenia. I mean Russia should refrain from all kinds of bans and restrictions.
