Moscow put its regional neighbors on notice last Saturday that it intends to watch closely any energy and transport cooperation among Georgia, Azerbaijan and Türkiye, signaling it does not expect to be left out.
The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement responding to a tripartite agreement signed in Tbilisi the previous Wednesday, stressing that any such initiative should strengthen ties across the entire region, with no country excluded. The ministry added that Russia remains open to mutually beneficial and transparent cooperation aimed at stability and prosperity in the Caucasus.
The deal at the center of Moscow's attention would fund construction of a railway connecting Baku, Tbilisi and the northeastern Turkish city of Kars. The project carries an estimated price tag of 420 million dollars and was expected to break ground in the second quarter of 2007.
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili called the railway a project that "places the foundations for success" for all three nations. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan noted it was the third major joint undertaking among the countries, following the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in February 2007, in its own words.