Georgia well aware of danger of Turkish-Azerbaijani factor – opinions
Chairman of the Javakhk compatriotic Union and Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) parliamentary group member Shirak Torosyan believes that the Turkish-Azerbaijani factor started playing a more significant role in Georgia under the previous authorities, particularly during Mikheil Saakashvili’s presidency.
Georgia’s current authorities are trying to lessen this role.
“Saakashvili’s extremely pro-West policy was expected to strengthen the Turkish factor in Georgia. This factor is primarily economic, but is gradually turning into a political one,” he said as he commented on the Turkish-Azerbaijani-Georgian FMs’ meeting in Kars.
The FMs’ regular meetings are the result of agreements reached by the previous authorities.
“The states have certain interests and maintain cooperation, which, however, cannot be aimed at Armenia, at least in Georgia’s case. Georgia is well aware that the Turkish-Azerbaijani factor, which is rather strong in Georgia, may lead to undesirable consequences for the country,” he said.
Georgia’s present format may be of benefit to Armenia.
“Trying to take advantage of this format, for example, in the context of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Georgia will not allow it to be aimed at Armenia, and we can notice this tendency,” Mr Torosyan said.
Although Turkey may try to use economic levers, Georgia’s authorities will resist.
“Moreover, Georgia’s policy is clear and, as a sovereign state, it will not allow Turkey to ensure its interests using Georgia.”
As regards the three FMs’ call for a settling the Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia and South Ossetia problems in conformity with international legal norms, Mr Torosyan said:
“In this respect, Georgia and Azerbaijan seem to share the same fate. Georgia lost Abkhazia and South Ossetia and Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh. However, the two cases cannot be viewed at the same level. Nagorno-Karabakh waged a national liberation struggle and, without any foreign interference, the people could establish national sovereignty and is struggling for international recognition now.”
An expert in Georgian studies, Alik Eroyants, says he is under the impression that Turkey and Azerbaijan are trying to deepen economic relations as part of their cooperation within the same economic bloc.
“So the economic projects implemented with those three countries’ participation causes them to cooperate and deepen relations on a different platform,” he noted.
Eroyants said he doesn’t expect Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey to ever develop the economic bloc, with neither of them being powerful enough to secure the desired result against the backdrop of the developments in the region.
The expert said he sees that the Turkish-Azerbaijani investments have decreased in volume.
“The incumbent Georgian authorities are trying to balance their relations with both Turkey and Azerbaijan, and they even seek to improve the relations with Russia. That’s not within the Turkish and Azerbaijani interests, as it offers them no advantages at all, but a normalization in the Georgian-Russian ties is to our benefit as it will simultaneously weaken the Turkish-Azerbaijani factor,” Eroyants said, adding that he doesn’t expect the meeting to be a threat to Armenia.
Commenting on the talks, Turkologist Artak Shakaryants said events in that format have been regularly held since 2000. “Both Turkey and Azerbaijan have a considerably big influence, and that stems from the economic factor. The Turkish-Azerbaijani investments reach a colossal amount in Georgia. Besides, the Turks have quite a big influence in Batumi and its region, whereas the Azerbaijanis there are a minority,” he explained.
Shakaryan said he sees that Georgia is now heading closer to Europe, with Turkey and Azerbaijan doing all their best to exercise a stronger influence on the country.
They are at the same time declarations raising quite a lot of questions and demanding much vigilance, and though these are regular meeting, we must closely follow them,” he added.
Shakaryan said he thinks that the selection of Kars as a venue for the recent talks is of significance in that the city is the final destination of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. “Apart from thatm Turkey is trying with great efforts to revive the Kars Treaty and emphasize that it’s still in effect because it has concerns that by pushing ahead with the Genocide issuem Armenia may declare the Kars Treaty invalid,” he added.
Shakaryan said he doesn’t think that Georgia will manage to maintain a full-fledged balance with all countries against the backdrop of the persisting economic influence.
He said in the meantime that Armenia very little studies its northern neighbor to understand it better. “We do not know our Georgian neighbors that well,” he noted.
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