Russian news agencies on 16 January quoted Georgian Transport Minister Merab Adeishvili as warning that Georgia might block access to and communications with Russian military bases in Georgia unless Moscow suspends the rail communication resumed last month between the Black Sea city of Sochi and the Abkhaz capital, Sukhum. During talks in Moscow on 14-15 January, Russian Transport Ministry officials told Adeishvili that a commercial company is responsible for operating the railway. Also on 16 January, Georgia\'s Ambassador to Russia Zurab Abashidze conveyed a formal protest to Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister Valerii Loshchinin in connection with the rail link. Loshchinin argued that boosting economic ties between Abkhazia and Tbilisi would be beneficial for the entire South Caucasus. (RFE/RL)