Georgia hopes Armenia’s normalization with Azerbaijan and Turkey succeeds

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 10, ARMENPRESS. Georgia attaches great importance to uninterrupted and safe use of connections in South Caucasus, Georgia’s First Deputy Foreign Minister Lasha Darsalia has said.

Speaking at the Yerevan Dialogue forum, Darsalia expressed hope that Armenia’s normalization talks with both Azerbaijan and Turkey will succeed. 

“Our region plays an important role in transporting energy carriers towards Europe, thus the focus is on economic security, which has significant impact on the situation in the South Caucasian region,” he said, warning that the advantageous geographic location of the region’s countries are both an opportunity and a challenge at the same time. “On one hand the favorable location attracts extra-regional countries’ attention, invites to develop active bilateral and multilateral ties, but on the other hand the region becomes the arena of a ferocious competition,” he said.

Darsalia highlighted Georgia’s strategic cooperation with both Armenia and Azerbaijan. He said that all countries in the region have a responsibility to expand the ties and contribute to comprehensive stability and peace.

“We see the ongoing normalization talks between Armenia and Turkey and between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and we hope that the sides will succeed. Georgia is ready to support its neighbors in combining all efforts aimed at peace,” the deputy FM said.

Darsalia said Georgia is offering its capabilities and capacity that would help neighbors implement joint projects. “At the same time, Tbilisi attaches importance to the West’s participation in important regional processes. We have already chosen our path and we belong in the Euro-Atlantic dimension. The fact that the cooperation in South Caucasus is part of partnership with the West is highly important for Georgia,” Darsalia said.