Georgian, Armenian Foreign Ministers Discuss Bilateral Ties
Georgian Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili said after talks with his visiting Armenian counterpart Vardan Oskanian that the two countries have made a progress in delimitation of a 110-kilometer long Georgian-Armenian border.
?Our goal is to complete by the end of this year and submit to the Georgian and Armenian Presidents a draft agreement on delimitation of a joint border,? Bezhuashvili said at a joint news conference.
Predominantly ethnic Armenian populated region of Samtskhe-Javakheti in eastern Georgia was also discussed during the talks.
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian said that he is not informed about a demand voiced by a group of Akhalkalaki-based organizations to grant autonomy to the Javakheti region.
?This issue is the competence of the Georgian authorities and they should solve it. However, I know that they [the Georgian authorities] are against this [autonomy],? the Armenian Foreign Minister said.
Gela Bezhuashvili noted that during the talks the sides discussed the implementation of economic projects in the Javakheti region, in frames of which USD 200 million will be allocated within next three years. Moreover, a significant part of the funding allocated in frames of the Millennium Challenge Account – USD 102 million – will be spent towards rehabilitating some 245 kilometers of the main road traversing the Samtskhe-Javakheti region.
At the news conference the two Ministers hailed economic ties and growth of trade turnover between the two countries. Gela Bezhuashvili said that in the near future Adjarian capital Batumi will host a Georgian-Armenian business forum on energy issues.
