Armenia stands to gain from tension in Georgian-Azerbaijani relations – analyst

YEREVAN. – Unlike Georgia’s previous authorities, the current ones attach more importance to national interests, and therefore the Turkish-Azerbaijani influence in the country is perceived as a threat, Georgian affairs specialist Alik Eroyants stated during a press conference on Tuesday.

In his words, President Mikheil Saakashvili’s team is criticizing the present-day authorities of Georgia, and stating that the policy of the new halls of power runs counter to the country’s European integration process and, also, to its good-neighborly relations with some countries in the region.

“We [that is, Armenia] stand to gain from the tension in Georgian-Azerbaijani relations because the created situation needs to be observed from the regional perspective. There is tension in Russian-Azerbaijani relations, too; there are disagreements in the energy sector and in the European Union matter, as well,” Eroyants noted.

As for Armenia, according to the analyst, the country stands to gain from the current situation.

“There is a great chance of [re]opening the Abkhazian railway; this is very important not solely for us, but also for Russia and Georgia. If the new authorities of Georgia choose to improve relations with Russia, Azerbaijan will lose the energy supremacy it has in Georgia, [and] this will weaken the Turkish-Azerbaijani factor,” Alik Eroyants noted.