April 30, 2001 - 19:23 AMT
GEORGIAN PRESIDENT REASSURING ARMENIA
YEREVAN, April 30. /Mediamax/. President Eduard Shevardnadze declared today at a press conference in Tbilisi that Georgia is not going to establish or promote the establishment of any military alliances.
It would have been inadmissible, he said. Thus Georgian President commented the interview of Foreign Minister of Armenia Vardan Oskanian to Mediamax agency, where the minister expressed concern about a possible alliance of Georgia, Turkey and Azerbaijan. President Shevardnadze said Georgia is in "brotherhood" with Armenia as with other states. "Why make new military alliances - the old ones should be broken up", Eduard Shevardnadze said.
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian said last week in the exclusive interview to Mediamax that "Turkish-Georgian military cooperation concerns us". "If Georgia gradually and even unnoticeably becomes more and more dependent on Turkey, perhaps unknowingly, it may be pulled into the formation of a Turkey-Georgia-Azerbaijan axis, thus becoming involved in the Turkish and Azerbaijani policy to isolate Armenia", Armenian Minister said. --0--