April 4, 2005 - 11:15 AMT
GEORGIAN PRESIDENT REFUTED INFORMATION THAT ROBERT KOCHARIAN MET WITH HIM BY VLADIMIR PUTIN'S ORDER
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili refuted the information that Armenian leader Robert Kocharian met with him by order of Vladimir Putin, IA Regnum reports. "Armenia is an independent state with its own interests", he stressed in his interview with Rustavi-2 TV company. "Armenia is our neighbor, her President and the political elite show friendly attitude towards Georgia. Our attitude is the same. It will be extremely difficult for us to achieve progress within the country of beyond its borders without each other's assistance. It is natural", he added. When commenting on Armenian President's unexpected visit to Georgia Mikhail Saakashvili said, "If a neighbor wants to drop in for a cup of tea he does not have to call and warn of his visit 2 weeks earlier. We can visit each other without warning when there is something to talk about." At that the Georgian President underscored, "We will always have a subject for conversation with Armenia and Azerbaijan. We are mutually dependent and tied, we have a lot of common problems and one should be silly to refuse contacts of the kind."