Tbilisi as platform for direct Baku-Yerevan peace dialogue  Georgian pundits on Caliber.Az

A year ago, Georgia offered to host Azerbaijani-Armenian talks, and the sides took advantage of Tbilisi's hospitality and moderation. The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia, Jeyhun Bayramov and Ararat Mirzoyan, met in the Georgian capital to resolve the issues at hand. On July 1, a year later, the Georgians recalled a similar opportunity to promote dialogue, saying that their capital is ready to join the mediation process between the friendly neighbouring countries of Azerbaijan and Armenia. Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili stated this in the country's parliament.

According to the prime minister, Tbilisi has established good relations with the regional countries. Garibashvili stressed that cooperation with Azerbaijan, Türkiye and Armenia is strengthening on a daily basis and reiterated his full readiness to promote cooperation between Yerevan and Baku.

So, what could contribute to making Tbilisi a platform for fruitful dialogue alongside the US, Europe and Russia, and perhaps even more significant and effective than the previous ones? What is the essence of Tbilisi's envisaged mediation role in the negotiation process?

Georgian political analyst Simon Kopadze told Caliber.Az that he personally believes that Tbilisi is the most suitable for negotiations of the scale and intensity of the Azerbaijani-Armenian negotiations. Given the fact that the Georgian capital is practically next to Baku and Yerevan, it is possible to solve all the issues in a timely manner, without wasting much time on long-haul flights. Not to mention the fact that Georgia, due to its geographical proximity to the conflicting sides, is more interested than anyone else in ensuring that a peaceful dialogue between Baku and Yerevan is established as soon as possible.

"This is important for the development of the whole region and therefore vital for Georgia. In addition, Washington as a strategic partner of Tbilisi now also shows great interest in finally achieving peace and order in the Caucasus. In this regard, Tbilisi can take the baton after the completion of the negotiations in the US - there is not the slightest contradiction. In general, it is worth noting that there are many projects being implemented in the region between Georgian, Azerbaijani, Turkish, American and British companies, which means that an appropriate climate has been created and the proximity of positions has been achieved," says the Georgian political analyst.

The most important thing, according to Kopadze, is that Georgia, like the US, offers direct dialogue.
"When Moscow acted as a mediator in the negotiations between Baku and Yerevan, it was present everywhere, controlling the whole process, and no issue was resolved without its participation. A year ago, when negotiations with the participation of the Foreign Ministers - Bayramov and Mirzoyan - were held in Tbilisi, the hosts of the dialogue platform only welcomed the guests, and then a direct conversation between the sides took place," the expert recalled.

Kopadze is sure that Tbilisi is ideally suited for intensive and fruitful negotiations.

"After all, Georgia needs its neighbours in the region to actively cooperate, not to be hostile, and Tbilisi is making efforts to this end. The importance of the negotiation process is understood by many in Georgia - the public, politicians and political analysts, all of whom are determined to mediate for peace in the South Caucasus as much as possible," Kopadze says.

Meanwhile, another Georgian political scientist, Archil Sikharulidze, founder of the SIKHA Foundation research centre, believes that Tbilisi, in addition to those already mentioned, has another important advantage that could have a positive impact on the negotiations.

"Of course, Georgia cannot force either Azerbaijan or Armenia to make any concessions. But our state is the only actor in the region that has no direct interest in either Baku or Yerevan. For Azerbaijan, Armenia and even Türkiye, this is a very good position, where everyone can be assured of a neutral negotiating platform. After all, it is clear that the Georgian political elite is equidistant from all centres and will not use the negotiating process in any of its interests. So, Tbilisi has no mercenary aims, and this is very important because in our region everywhere you look everyone has their aims and motivations. And Georgia offers to take advantage of the reality and opportunities of the country, where many nations can live absolutely peacefully and communicate with each other in peaceful conditions. I think that it is in this context that Mr Garibashvili should promote Georgia as the centre of peacemaking efforts in the Caucasus. It is in everyone's interest here that none of the parties feels disadvantaged. As the Buddha said, 'true victory will take place when no one feels defeated'," Sikharulidze concluded.