In a statement coming as a surprise to many of Georgia’s supporters, Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani, referring to the 3+3 format of regional cooperation, said Tbilisi should “in one form or another” engage in “major geopolitical projects and relations.”
Zalkaliani also stressed that “red lines” must be respected.
Despite this caveat, the statement is expected to trigger a broader discussion on Georgia’s trajectory amidst cooled relations with the west.
The 3+3 format, initiated in the aftermath of the 2020 Armenian-Azerbaijani war, was first voiced by Tukey’s President Recep Tayp Erdogan and is widely viewed as an effort to squeeze out western influence and that of the United States in particular from the South Caucasus.
The format includes Russia, Turkey and Iran, as key regional players, as well as Armenia and Azerbaijan. Georgia’s President Salome Zourabishvili had in 2020 voiced support for the format, but came under fire from different parts of the Georgian society.
Zalkaliani’s statement comes against the background of cooled western-Georgian relations, including Georgia’s refusal to accept the EU Micro Financial Assistance package conditioned upon judicial reform as well as negative assessments of the October 2 local elections
Commenting on part of Zalkaliani’s statement that “it would be ‘very hard’ to join the 3+3 platform,” but that Georgia “should find ways to engage in prospective regional projects,” former US Ambassador to Georgia Ian Kelly spared no words: “Very hard”? Russia invaded and occupied you. Your friends would have preferred to hear you say, “impossible.”
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