Most favorable conditions  have been created for negotiations  regarding the opening of a  railway through Abkhazia - Kocharyan

ArmInfo.The head of state should make his calculations based on what geopolitics dictates, as  stated by Robert Kocharyan, the second President of the Republic of Armenia and leader of the "Armenia" bloc, in a podcast  with bloc members, Agnese Khamoyan and Anna Grigoryan.

"If you are a small country with a small population, you must seek  out large markets for economic development and find the shortest  routes to these markets," the bloc leader said.  Noting that  Armenia's economy is largely dependent on Russia, he pointed out that  the route for transporting goods from Armenia to Russia through  Azerbaijan would be 700 km longer than using the Abkhazian road  through Georgia. "Contacts with Russia were always maintained through  Georgia during Soviet times, and with Europe through the Georgian  port of Poti. Why aren't we focusing on opening these routes? There  have been many meetings between the leaders of Armenia and Georgia  recently. Have they discussed opening a railway through Abkhazia?"  Kocharyan asked.

According to him, the road with Azerbaijan would be needed, by and  large, only for trade with Central Asian countries. However, as the  leader of the "Armenia" bloc noted, "they have nothing to buy from  us, and we have nothing to buy from them." Only jewelry products  might be feasible here, but for this, as he noted, a railway  connection is not necessary; road or air transport would suffice.

"And now the conditions are most favorable for beginning negotiations  on opening this road (through Abkhazia). Given that Georgia's  relations with the EU are frozen, Georgia should be interested in  establishing a railway connection with the Russian Federation. This  would be beneficial for Georgia, Russia, and Abkhazia," Kocharyan  said. He cited relations between Georgia and Abkhazia as a political  obstacle. However, the second president of the Republic of Armenia  proposed separating the economic program from political  contradictions. He had made similar attempts in 2003. Kocharyan  argued that opening the railway would not violate Georgia's  territorial integrity and would not call into question Abkhazia's  independence. "Both sides are stating that there is no political  context here, but only the goal of mutually beneficial economic  cooperation," Kocharyan clarified.

If such a railway connection is established, he said, Armenia will  receive significant privileges and will no longer need to thank the  Azerbaijani president for grain and fuel supplies at every  opportunity.