Georgia, Armenia open Bridge of Friendship

TBILISI. Aug 19 (Interfax) - Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and his Armenian counterpart Nikol Pashinyan opened a motor bridge dubbed as the Bridge of Friendship across the Debed River on the Georgian-Armenian border on Friday, the Georgian government press service said in a statement.

"The bridge will double the transport capacity at the border," Garibashvili said at the opening ceremony.

The 160-meter bridge built by Georgia and Armenia costs 9 million euros, Garibashvili said. He thanked the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for the allotment of over 7 million euros for the bridge project.

The Bridge of Friendship was originally due to open by the end of 2016, yet the opening was repeatedly delayed.

According to the press service, the prime ministers of Georgia and Armenia discussed bilateral cooperation at a one-on-one meeting.

The Georgian media said last week that the Armenian government had asked Georgia for permission to transport cargo from Russia to Armenia by sea via the Georgian port of Poti, as the traffic along the Military Georgian Road was hindered by many-kilometer jams on the Georgian-Russian border. The Georgian government has not formally replied to the request.