By Emil Danielyan
President Robert Kocharian and his Georgian counterpart Mikheil Saakashvili released on Monday few details of their latest talks held in the Georgian Black Sea city of Batumi over the weekend. The two leaders avoided speaking with journalists after the meeting on Sunday.
The Armenian presidential press service released a photograph of casually dressed Kocharian and Saakashvili conversing in the latter’s local summer retreat against the backdrop of the sea. In a brief statement, it said they discussed “the agenda of the Armenian-Georgian relationship.”
The statement said the two leaders then visited the nearby town of Kobuleti, with Saakashvili briefing Kocharian on his government’s efforts to promote tourism in Georgia’s autonomous Republic of Ajaria, of which Batumi is the capital.
Ajaria, and Kobuleti in particular, has become in recent years one of the most popular destinations of Armenian holidaymakers attracted by its seaside resorts and accommodation prices that are often lower than in Armenia. Tens of thousands of them visited the region this summer.
Saakashvili’s office did not issue any statements on the talks. According to the Georgian Caucasus Press news agency, he and Kocharian also discussed the situation in Javakheti, a volatile region in southern Georgian mainly populated by ethnic Armenians.
In addition to exchanging official visits, Saakashvili and Kocharian regularly hold informal meetings in famous Armenian and Georgian resorts. Their previous one-on-one encounter took place in the Armenian ski resort of Tsaghkadzor in March.
(Presidential press service photo)