Armenian Interests in Georgia
The Dilis Gazeti
President of Georgia is visiting Armenia today. “The visit is of great importance because of the situation existing in the region”, the Dilis Gazeti says. It covers the relationship between Georgia and Armenia.
Relying on Abkhazian sources, Armenian press states that “17 peaceful Armenians” were killed during the recent clashes in Abkhazia. The Dilis Gazeti wonders where the number occurred from since only 5 people of Armenian ethnicity (Muslims) were killed there. According to the paper, there were no women, children and old people among them. They are thought to have been Armenian “boeviks” from so-called “Marshal Bagramian” battalion. “Armenia reacted severely on the incident anyway. Extremely insulting articles were published”, the paper says.
The paper talks about Russian military base in Akhalkalaki. Armenia is strictly against its withdrawal from Georgia. “Russian base in Akhalkalaki is an Armenian base on the Georgian territory for 80 percent of its soldiers and officers are local Armenians”, the paper reports. It says the base is of strategic importance for both Russia and Armenia. The country is interested in Georgia being subordinated on Russia. “Stable Georgia” is acceptable for Armenia only in case it is controlled by Russia and thus controlled by Yerevan (because of its strategic partnership with Moscow). So it may not have been surprising that issue of “violating the rights of Armenian minority in Georgia” became intensive when Georgia demanded that the military base be pulled, the Dilis Gazeti tells.