Armenia-Georgia war scenario over gas pipeline: expert

If Georgia sells the gas pipeline, the one that carries Russian gas to Armenia, to an Azerbaijani or Turkish company, then Armenia must prevent it even by beginning military actions against Georgia if need be, expert Vahe Sargsyan told a press conference today.

In his words though Georgia officially points to the necessity of liberalization of its economy, the real cause is something else.
According to Sargsyan the first group of reason comprises several points.

“First, there may be agreements over the selling of the pipeline with Gazprom. Second, there may be agreements with Turkish-Azerbaijani companies which are less probable. Third, there may be agreements with the West over the third buyer whose name is not known to anyone yet,” said he, adding that Russian Gazprom and Kazakhstani Kaztransgaz are among the positional buyers.

“It is very important for Armenia who the buyer of this strategically significant facility will be. [But] there is no need to worry about it, as the new buyer may be a better partner than Georgia is,” said Sargsyan, recalling that only in 1990s that pipe was subject to 35 explosions due to lack of attention from the Georgian state.

According to the expert Armenia must try and prevent selling the pipeline to Azerbaijani and Turkish companies. And if need be Armenia must raise the issue in that case to international tribunes.

“Selling the pipeline to Azerbaijan would mean tying Armenia’s trachea with a thread that has its both ends in Azerbaijan. That country can at any moment suffocate Armenia”, said Sargsyan, adding that it was important that the buyer had economic rather than political reasons to buy the pipeline.