BILL PROHIBITING CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY BYPASSING ARMENIA IN SOUTH CAUCASUS SUBMITTED TO US SENATE

Yerevan, March 29. /ARKA/. A bill prohibiting the construction of a railway bypassing Armenia in the South Caucasus (Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baklu) estimated at $800mln. Armenian Assembly of America reports that the bill was authored by Rick Santorum and Robert Menendez.

The planned construction of the railway in the South Caucasus will not only impinge the USA’s long-term interests in the region, but also result in Armenia’s isolation, Santorum said. The USA’s policy in the South Caucasus encourages regional stability, cooperation and re-opening of borders and transport corridors, he added.

In May 2005, in Baku, the Azerbaijani, Georgian and Turkish Presidents pronounced for the creation of an international transport corridor Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku. They backed up the project of constructing a railway between Kars and Akhalkalaki. Armenia is against this project as economically unsound, because the new railway will be constructed despite the existence of the Kars-Gyumri-Tbilisi-Baku railway.