TBILISI (Reuters) - Damaged on Saturday by an explosion, the Georgian strategic railway line which transports oil exports from Azerbaijan to European markets will reopen within ten days, the national railway company announces.
Traffic on this line, which also links Armenia to the Georgian Black Sea coast, was interrupted after the destruction of a railway bridge near the Georgian town of Kaspi. Tbilisi accused Russian troops of blowing it up, which Moscow denied.
"Construction or repair work is expected to be completed within a maximum of ten days," said Irma Stepnadze, spokesperson for Georgian Railways.
Engineers and workers from Armenia and Azerbaijan are expected to arrive in Georgia on Sunday to take part in the refurbishment work, she said, adding that they would also bring specialized equipment.
A fire having put the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (Turkey) pipeline out of service, the stopping of the railway means that the only Azerbaijani oil exports are ensured by a pipeline connecting the deposits of the Caspian Sea to the Russian port of Novorossiysk , on the Black Sea.
The railway from Tbilisi crosses Gori, a city occupied by Russian forces, before dividing into three ramifications, destined in particular for the ports of Poti and Batumi, on the Black Sea.
Start of the week, the Georgian conflict had already forced the oil company BP to close the pipeline carrying Azerbaijani crude between Baku and Soupsa, another Georgian port on the Black Sea.
French version Henri-Pierre André, Philippe Bas-Rabérin
There are no small profits for Russia…
Armenia can no longer pump oil back to the EU
The pipeline passing through Tbilisi was burnt down + the single railway bridge was destroyed.
It's not them they say!
There is only one export channel left ==> go through a Russian port…
