Georgia, Armenia and coronavirus. A serious conflict is brewing
The epidemic of a deadly strain of coronavirus in Iran, which affected not only ordinary citizens, but also top-level politicians, including 23 parliamentarians, caused panic in the former Soviet republics of Transcaucasia.
The threat of the spread of infection looms over Armenia, which borders Iran and has close economic, border and transit ties with this state. On March 1, in Yerevan, a young man who had returned from Iran the day before was hospitalized and infected with COVID-19.
Pashinyan threatened that along with the infected young man, at least 30 people who unwittingly came into contact with him would be quarantined: a border guard, a taxi driver, and close relatives. The prime minister promised that the stay in quarantine for these people would be as comfortable as possible: “like in a top-class hotel, but separately.”
Following Pashinyan, the Georgian leadership also became concerned: three of its citizens who returned from Iran and Italy were confirmed infected with coronavirus. 97 people were quarantined.
The collapse threatens transit transportation, trade and tourism ties between two poor states and, as a result, serious financial costs.
In both republics, the situation is close to hysterical: people with high temperatures are admitted to hospitals - mainly with the usual seasonal flu. However, wide-eyed fear, coupled with rumors, makes the population suspect the apocalyptic spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
To coordinate the joint response to the dangerous infection, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan arrived in Tbilisi on March 3 for a two-day official visit.
Pashinyan and Gakharia
Before the leaders of the two states, Pashinyan and Gakharia, had time to sit down at the negotiating table, the number one news that fueled panic was the message about “the presence of coronavirus symptoms” in one of Pashinyan’s security guards, who accompanied the prime minister during his visit to Georgia.
The man, who fell ill with a high temperature, was flown to Yerevan. Press Secretary of the Armenian Ministry of Health Alina Nikoghosyan reported via Facebook that the diagnosis of “coronavirus infection” in Pashinyan’s security guard was not confirmed and the patient was feeling well, which reassured few people.
Lugar laboratory in Georgia
Georgian representatives who had contact with the patient were sent to undergo emergency tests at the scandalous Lugar Center for Public Health in Tbilisi, which conducted secret experiments on people ordered by the Pentagon.
Judging by the information coming from Georgia and Armenia, even if Pashinyan and Gakharia agreed on something, the situation on the borders of the republics is not in favor of Armenia.
According to Armenian “commercial companies” that resell Iranian agricultural products re-registered in Armenia in Russia, Georgia, having stopped allowing goods across its border, has already introduced preventive measures aimed at limiting the spread of coronavirus. This could have a significant impact on the Armenian economy.
Iranian-Armenian border
On the Armenian side, there was a traffic jam of dozens of trucks filled with Iranian kiwis, apples and vegetables - access to Georgia was closed to them for an indefinite period.
According to traders, if the goods are not allowed into Russia, they will be sold in Armenia, which will “explode the local market.” Armenian entrepreneurs demand that Pashinyan obtain from Georgia at least temporary permission to allow existing goods to enter Russia, which requires a diplomatic agreement between Yerevan and Tbilisi.
According to Armenian traders and carriers, there are allegedly no problems from Russia, and even if the coronavirus managed to get on Iranian vegetables and fruits, it managed to “die in terrible convulsions,” since its lifespan in active air is only 48 hours, and trucks have been piling up on the border with Georgia for more than three days now.
On the other hand, there are reports that there are no problems with the supply of Armenian cognac to Russia through the territory of Georgia. The relevant services take samples of cognac for analysis, carriers wait for the results, after which the cargo with liquid gold crosses the border.
Armenian trucks with Iranian vegetables and fruits on the border with Georgia
According to unnamed representatives of the Ministry of Economy of Armenia, the country has introduced restrictions on transport links with Iran. In particular, there should be no transit transportation of Iranian goods through Armenia and Georgia. But for some reason they are being implemented. Now officials are wondering why Armenian entrepreneurs were not warned about the restriction and how Iranian agricultural products ended up on the border with Georgia.
In Tbilisi, unlike Yerevan, there are no “secrets of the Burgundian court” and the local Land Transport Agency in late February issued a statement to stop issuing any permits for international transportation of passengers and cargo to Iran and Italy.
Apparently, a suspicious link in the system of Iranian-Armenian transportation was the practice of transshipping Iranian goods onto Armenian trucks on the Iranian side and their further re-registration as Armenian goods. In the current situation, no one wants to take risks and check for themselves whether the deadly coronavirus COVID-19, which has already claimed more than two thousand lives around the world, lives on Iranian peaches for just two days, and after dying it gives them an improved taste and velvety quality .
There is an obvious consumerist attitude of the Armenian authorities and traders towards the Russian population in the name of short-term profits. Such a practice could have a very bad impact on the reputation of Armenian agricultural products, forcing Russians to avoid them.
Pashinyan can be congratulated on the failure of the negotiations: the fact that the potentially dangerous transit of goods from Iran to Russia was stopped cannot be attributed to his merits, but can only be explained by the fear of the Georgian authorities to drag the infection through their territory.
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