19 February 2004, 13:32
Armenians living in Georgia want to create their autonomy
The Armenian population of Georgia compactly living in Javakhetiya wants the country's authorities to allow them creating a national territorial autonomy, David Rstakian, who leads the Virk party acting in the region, told Interfax.
"This request is not of a breakaway nature. Moreover, if such an autonomy were created, Georgia would become stronger, and its citizens of Armenian nationality could join the process of building the strong Georgian state to the full extent," he said.
At the same time Mr Rstakian noted with regret that "representatives of the new Georgian authorities, like their predecessors, do not want to consider this issue even on the level of a proposal."
Source: Interfax News Agency