OMM Redaksiyası
Two senior Georgian officials said at separate events in New York that the South Caucasus is gaining strategic importance and that Tbilisi wants to be at the center of this process.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze framed the issue in the context of multilateral cooperation and regional opportunities. Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili, in remarks directed at the United States and the European Union, highlighted Georgia’s partnerships with the West and its geopolitical position between Europe and Asia.
Kobakhidze emphasizes peace and regional cooperation
Speaking at the Partnership and Multilateralism Summit, Kobakhidze reiterated Georgia’s position on the territories it says are occupied by Russia. According to the Georgian government, 20% of the country’s territory is under occupation. Tbilisi says it is seeking a peaceful resolution through “de-occupation, reconciliation and the restoration of trust.”
The prime minister also called for continued international support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. He said the South Caucasus was entering an era of new opportunities and that regional cooperation was creating broader prospects for trade and transport links.
Botchorishvili highlights partnerships with the West
Maka Botchorishvili spoke at the annual Concordia Summit during a panel discussing Southeastern Europe and the Black Sea as pillars of stability. Her remarks placed greater emphasis on Georgia’s long-term cooperation with the United States and NATO, as well as its potential role as a link between Europe and Asia.
For decades, Georgia has participated in US- and NATO-led missions, including in Afghanistan. Although the country is not a NATO member, it was one of the largest troop-contributing nations to the mission in Afghanistan.
Botchorishvili has repeatedly stressed that Georgia’s role as a regional connector does not alter its ambition to join the European Union. She has said that European integration is a strategic and historic choice for Georgia.
New transport routes increase the region’s importance
The expansion of transport links in the region provides a practical basis for Georgia’s arguments. On Aug. 8, 2025, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a joint declaration at the White House, in the presence of US President Donald Trump, outlining the development of regional connectivity.
The document includes plans for the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” (“TRIPP”), a transit link through Armenian territory between Azerbaijan’s main part and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. Armenia retains sovereignty, territorial integrity and jurisdiction over the sections of the project located on its territory.
Azerbaijan lifted restrictions on the transit of goods to Armenia in October 2025. Ilham Aliyev said the planned route could become operational by the end of 2028 and initially carry about 15 million metric tons of cargo annually.
The project is expected to strengthen the Trans-Caspian Trade Route, also known as the Middle Corridor, which links China and Central Asia with Europe through the Caspian Sea and the South Caucasus while bypassing Russia. Georgia is already located along a strategic section of this route. Expanded regional connectivity could mean increased freight traffic and transit revenues for Tbilisi, as well as a stronger role as a bridge between the Black Sea and Caspian regions.
Relations with Türkiye also on the agenda
This process also provided context for Kobakhidze’s meeting in New York with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Georgia, Azerbaijan and Türkiye are already connected by the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway, one of the key elements of east-west transport links between the Caspian region and Europe. The railway’s capacity has increased following modernization work.
Tbilisi presents deeper transport and energy cooperation with Türkiye as part of its argument that Georgia can serve as an important connector between Europe, the Black Sea, the South Caucasus and Central Asia.
Diplomatic ambitions face political challenges
Georgia’s diplomatic messaging comes amid growing tensions in its relations with the EU and the United States. The country’s EU accession process has effectively stalled. In November 2024, Kobakhidze announced that his government would not put the opening of EU accession talks on the agenda until the end of 2028.
EU institutions later said the accession process had “effectively reached a stopping point.” The European Commission has described Georgia as a “candidate country in name only.”
Relations with Washington have also come under significant strain. The United States imposed sanctions on several Georgian officials in 2024. Bidzina Ivanishvili, founder and honorary chairman of the Georgian Dream party, was added to the US Treasury Department’s sanctions list in December of that year.
Nevertheless, diplomatic contacts continue. On Sept. 8, Botchorishvili met in Tbilisi with the newly appointed US chargé d’affaires. The sides discussed bilateral relations and prospects for future cooperation.
The speeches in New York appear to represent an effort to reinforce Georgia’s central message: despite political disagreements with Washington and Brussels, Tbilisi regards its geographic position and the South Caucasus’s growing importance as a trade and transport hub as grounds for continued Western engagement in the region.
