Russia and Georgia agree to reopen ferry route

TBILISI, May 22 (Reuters) Russia and Georgia have agreed to reopen a Black Sea ferry route that carries rail wagons, a spokesman for Georgia's railways said today, the first transport link between the two countries to reopen since 2006.

''The ferry between the Georgian port of Poti and the Russian Caucasus will resume in the next two to three weeks,'' spokesman Irma Stepnadze said.

Russia cut air and rail links with its former Soviet neighbour last year after Georgian authorities arrested a handful of Russians living in Tbilisi and accused them of spying.

Stepnadze said the ferry would travel between Poti and Russia twice a week and had the capacity to carry 56 wagons of dry cargo only.

Central Asian countries regularly send oil and refined products via rail across Azerbaijan and Georgia for onward transport from Poti and other ports to markets in Europe.

REUTERS SS KP1519