Visiting Yerevan on 12 March, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili met with his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian and with Prime Minister Andranik Markarian to discuss bilateral cooperation, the problems facing Georgia\'s Armenian minority, regional conflicts and transportation. In a joint communique, the two presidents reiterated their shared desire to expand bilateral relations and to integrate into European structures, and noted the need for closer cooperation to combat international terrorism, organized crime, and drug trafficking. Saakashvili, however, apparently stopped short of making the one concession for which Yerevan was hoping. He said rail transport from Russia via Abkhazia to Armenia will be resumed only once the repatriation of Georgian displaced persons gets under way, and that Tbilisi will not favor any of its neighbors by lowering transit costs for freight shipped via Georgia. In late December, Markarian passed a written request to then-acting Georgian Minister of State Zurab Zhvania for a reduction of freight transport costs. (Caucasus Press)