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Yerevan-Batumi motorway concerns

Friday, October 24
During the most recent visit of Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian to Georgia, a major agreement was signed on building a motorway connecting Yerevan with Batumi.

Famous Georgian writer Chabua Amerijibi has published an open statement about this issue. He asks several questions:

1. Is it necessary to build a motorway when there are already roads which Armenia can use to access Black Sea ports?
2. How much will it cost and who will pay for it?
3. Who will own it?
4. As Armenia is a junior partner of the Russian empire, will Russians have claims over this motorway as well?
5. If construction of the motorway is inevitable, will Georgia finance this itself and own it?

These questions are ones which should be asked and answered during the planning stages of any new project, particularly one as important as a transnational motorway link.