Saakashvili Says Georgia Open to Russian Firms
Combined Reports
TBILISI, Georgia — President Mikheil Saakashvili said he would not prevent Russian companies, including power trader Inter RAO and gas producer Itera, from investing in Georgia, rejecting criticism that their control of utilities was a threat to security. “We’re not going to hinder Russian companies from coming to Georgia,” Saakashvili said in an interview in the Black Sea port of Batumi. “The more business interest we get, the less political pressure there will be. I’ve never said that Georgia doesn’t need Russian business.” A proposed agreement with Inter RAO, a utility controlled by Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, would give it “management control” of the 1,300 megawatt Inguri hydropower plant on the border with Abkhazia for 10 years. The deal has met with criticism from Georgian opposition leaders, who say it would violate a law on the “occupied territories” of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and damage Georgia’s national interests. Georgia’s $12.8 billion economy is still recovering from about $1 billion in damage from a five-day war with Russia in August over separatist South Ossetia. Russia routed Georgia’s army in the conflict and later recognized both South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent. On Friday, about 7,000 people rallied in the capital to demand the resignation of Saakashvili, whom opponents criticize for sparking the war with Russia and the country’s worsening economic situation. Another 2,500 protested on Sunday in downtown Tbilisi, calling for Saakashvili to resign. “We’ve never said we’re against Russian business or investors,” opposition lawmaker Levan Vepkhvadze said by telephone. “But privatizing crucial assets — like water systems, power stations and God knows what else — is different. And selling Inguri to a Russian state company? This is a terrible idea, and more than that, it’s dangerous.” Saakashvili said the government has no timetable for concluding the hand over of Inguri to Inter RAO. “We’re working with the Russians to get the best deal,” he said. “The Russians are trying to replace Georgian wine with Italian or Spanish,” Saakashvili said, referring to a Russian ban on wine imports from Georgia, part of an economic embargo imposed in 2006 that remains in effect. “But there’s no way they can replace Georgian electricity. We both have an interest in Georgia exporting power, and Georgia will gain extra revenue. I think the Inguri deal will be perfect.” Inter RAO owns or controls several Georgian utilities, including Telasi, the country’s largest electricity provider, which serves Tbilisi. The utility controls about 35 percent of Georgia’s power market, spokesman Boris Zverev said. “When I was prime minister, we encouraged all companies, including Russian, to invest in Georgia, and if I had to do it all over again I’d do the same,” Zurab Noghaideli, who served as prime minister from February 2005 to November 2007, said in an interview. (Bloomberg, Reuters, AP)
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