Foreign Minister of Armenia Vartan Oskanyan announced recently that the
closing of borders can not hurt Armenia’s economy and that Armenia can
develop on its own for even 100 years without opening any border.
National Assembly deputy and businessman Khachatur Sukyasyan
contradicted Oskanyan by saying: “No country can progress on its own
without the help of other countries, the collaboration with other
countries in importing and exporting its products. I do not agree that
a country can advance on its own, especially a country like Armenia who
has few alternative roads. The main sources that we have are the Poti
and Batum harbors which are always loaded and the shipping fees are
always high in those areas. We have no railway communication at all. If
the Abkhazia border opens up, the percentage of exchange of cargos with
Russia will rise to 50% and that will benefit Armenia. It will have a
huge impact on prices of products, because there are products which can
not be exported and sold in Russia due to the high shipping fees. In
addition, many products will be sold at a cheaper price if the Abkhazia
border opens. Overall, I do not agree with Vartan Oskanyan. We can not
move forward independently but rather, by getting help from foreign
markets.”
