ArmInfo.I personally would not have predicted the opening of transport corridors through Georgia for Armenia to Russia, at least in the foreseeable future. Professor of philosophy department of Batumi State University Giorgi Masalkin expressed this opinion to ArmInfo.
In the first ten days of July in Prague, a regular meeting of Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin and Georgian Special Envoy for Relations with Moscow Zurab Abashidze is scheduled.
The previous Prague meeting of the negotiators ended with the resuscitation of the agreement "On Trade Corridors" of 2011. After that, on February 8, Karasin reported on "serious progress in the practical area," noting that the last, most difficult step was left to open a new transit corridor through Georgia. The diplomat also stressed that not only Russia and Georgia, but also Armenia are interested in implementing the 2011 agreements.
"In my opinion, first of all, on this way there is a fairly stable socio-political consensus over Abkhazia and South Ossetia over the years, and I do not know what lobbying opportunities and mechanisms can allow to overcome the consequences of this consensus in the form of closed communications," he noted.
Masalkin stressed that the opening of the corridor for Armenia appears to have become one of the main issues of the negotiation agenda of the Armenian Prime Minister during his recent visit to Georgia.
However, according to him, Tbilisi is not yet ready to resolve such issues, since, for all its rationality, the opening of transport corridors from Georgia to Russia through the territories of occupied Abkhazia and South Ossetia is still contrary to Georgia's national interests.
"I hope that the dynamic processes in our region will change the existing status quo, allowing to reach new agreements and, accordingly, to acquire new opportunities." However, it is rather difficult to predict the future changes, if not impossible," the expert concluded.
According to the Russian negotiator Karasin, the parties decided to discuss only those issues that can be resolved without the red lines crossing the status of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as well as the presence of Russian troops on their territory. Such a system will allow the parties to bypass the delicate issue of customs clearance at the border, and also use the highway through South Ossetia, which is especially important for Armenia, since the Military-Georgian road connecting the country with Russia is often closed due to weather conditions.