On August 21-22, Georgia’s Prime Minister, Irakli Garibashvili, was on an official visit to Armenia (in the photo, from the left). After the visit, it became clear that an agreement was signed on building a thermal power plant in Vanadzor. TPP will be built by Georgian Anaklia IEP Holding. As reported by the Armenian community website in Georgia, the owner of this company, Teimuraz Karchava, at the press conference on August 26, in Tbilisi, has said, “During the construction and after operation of the TPP, the Armenian Government exempts the Georgian company from paying taxes for five years. Moreover, the whole electricity consumed for the construction of plant will be exported to Georgia.”
To the question of Georgian journalists “why this plant is being built in Armenia and not in Georgia,” Teimuraz Karchava responded as follows, “For implementing construction in Anaklia seaport and other projects, we need 400 megawatts of electricity. Today, the Georgian energy system does not have this amount of free electricity. It requires 18 months for the operation of the Armenian TPP, whereas it requires 8 years for the construction and operation of a hydropower plant in Georgia. Building a hydro power station in Armenia, 18 months later, we would already have the required electricity for us.”
It is written in Georgia’s Armenian community website, “Building a Georgian TPP in the territory of Armenia has become an active topic of discussion for the Georgian media, and it is impossible not to comment on the question of “Newpost” daily addressed to the reader, “whether the construction of the hydro-power plant to be built in Armenia would not generate tension in relations between Georgia and Azerbaijan.” Surely, it would. In the event of implementation of the anti-Azerbaijani project by Georgia, Azerbaijan will have to introduce a whole series of sanctions against Georgia. The transfer of oil and gas Turkey through Georgia will be terminated. The construction of a railway connecting Azerbaijan and Turkey will be terminated. Azerbaijan will close the border with Georgia and thus the country will appear is a strict blockade. The entire Azerbaijani small and large capital and businesses bringing hundreds of millions of dollars revenue per annum to Azerbaijani treasury will be withdrawn from Georgia. In the face of introduced sanctions against Georgia by Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan and Turkey will find a new, alternative way to carry out so vital for them mutual communication.”
With regard to these pessimistic and sarcastic remarks, “Aravot” asked the Regional Research Center researcher, also analyst, Johnny Melikyan, whether escalation of the Armenian-Georgian economic relations could truly become an opportunity for counteractions in Azerbaijan, and whether generated from the fear of this counteractions, the planned and current Armenian-Georgian projects may fail or be terminated. According to the analyst, “After the change of power in 2012, a positive move in Armenian-Georgian relations has been observed. This trend is directly related to Bidzina Ivanishvili’s giving a new impetus to Georgian-Russian relations and starting a dialogue. Georgia’s leadership views the relations with neighboring countries, purely from the prospect of national interests of the state.
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Hence, understanding how Georgian economy is dependent from Turkish and Azerbaijani investments, trade and energy cooperation, the Georgian government is trying to balance these relations with strengthening Russian-Georgian and Armenian-Georgian relations. In this event, on one hand, participating in Georgian-Azerbaijani-Turkish tripartite partnership format, the bases of which were still laid in Saakashvili’s presidency, in 2012, by the foreign ministers of the three countries in Trabzon, Georgia at the same time is trying to deepen economic relations with Russia and Armenia, especially in the last 8 months.
With regard to the construction of TPP in Vanadzor by Georgian Anaklia IEP Holding and 600 million US dollar investment, then I must say that despite the fact that Georgia receives natural gas from Azerbaijan, and in the end a decision has been made to implement the project in Armenia thanks to the gas and labor force provided by Armenia, which shows the development of good neighborly relations between Georgia and Armenia.
Talking about the development of relations and its impact on Georgian-Azerbaijani or Georgian-Turkish relations, I must say that despite the fact that our neighbors would be jealous to it, however, it will not leave any impact both on the Armenian-Georgian relations, nor there will be a review or termination of Georgian-Azerbaijani-Turkish projects: the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline, Baku-Tbilisi-Akhalkalaki-Kars railway. Even our neighboring countries declare that deepening of relations is expected in Georgian-Azeri-Turkish trilateral partnership format, including military partnership. But, eventually, no matter the Georgian relations be with the neighbors, they will be within the national interests: economic development and the status of a transit country work for the benefit of this country.”
Melania BARSEGHYAN
