Georgia has nothing to fear from new transit routes, says MP

The emergence of new potential transit routes in the region would not pose a threat to Georgia, but rather create an additional opportunity, said Vato Shakarishvili, Executive Secretary of the “United Neutral Georgia” party.

“If we adequately assess the new reality and do not forcibly drag the country into the ruins of NATO and the European Union, the emergence of new potential transit routes in the region will become not a threat, but an additional opportunity for Georgia,” he said commenting on a statement that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev voiced at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Caliber.Az reports, citing Georgian media.

According to Shakarishvili, opposition-linked media outlets have distorted the Azerbaijani president’s remarks in an attempt to promote a false narrative that Georgia is allegedly losing its transit role and that new routes will bypass the country.

He stressed that President Aliyev was, in fact, speaking about work on a new “Asia–Europe” transport corridor as a complement to the existing route that passes through Georgia. Shakarishvili noted that the expansion of transport options benefits suppliers, consumers, and transit countries alike.

Shakarishvili also argued that deeper regional cooperation, joint economic projects, and improved connectivity strengthen the role of regional states and contribute to long-term peace, which he described as a necessary precondition for sustainable development.

At the same time, he described the constitutional provision on Georgia’s accession to NATO and the EU as a risk factor that could hinder the country’s ability to realize its potential and deprive it of a historic opportunity to secure a достойное place in the emerging global order.

Among the key conditions for strengthening Georgia’s role, Shakarishvili highlighted the need for internal political stability, minimizing the risks of destabilization, and maintaining neutrality, which he said would help prevent Georgia from being drawn into confrontation with Russia.

To recall, during panel session on “Defining Eurasia's Economic Identity” in Davos, President Aliyev discussed emerging transport connectivity initiatives in the region. He said: "With TRIPP and the connectivity project, which the United States is now supervising, we will establish a new transportation corridor stretching from Asia across the Caspian, through Azerbaijan, Armenia, part of Azerbaijan—which is Nakhchivan—Türkiye, and further down to Europe, in addition to the existing corridors through Georgia. So the more routes, the better for consumers, suppliers, and transit countries."

By Khagan Isayev