Organization of Turkic States

Fifteen years after the war in Georgia, the dilemmas of the European Union in the South Caucasus

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星期三, 八月 23, 2023
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Georgia’s then-president, Mikhail Saakachvili, attempted to regain control of these territories, which represent 20% of Georgia’s surface area, but to no avail.

Key Points: 
  • Georgia’s then-president, Mikhail Saakachvili, attempted to regain control of these territories, which represent 20% of Georgia’s surface area, but to no avail.
  • At the instigation of Nicolas Sarkozy, then president of France, the European Union took on the role of mediator.
  • Russia is still exerting pressure to penetrate further into the territory today through what is known as the technique of “frontierisation”.
  • Russia’s objectives in the South Caucasus are similar to those that led to its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

A crossroads of influence

    • Turkish support serves Erdogan’s ambitions in Central Asia: to rebuild historical, cultural, linguistic, economic and political links with Turkic-speaking countries.
    • Azerbaijan, even as it balances the interests of Turkey and Russia, has also been a partner of the European Union since 2022.
    • The fastest route is the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) rail link, which then leads to the Turkish ports or the undersea Marmaray train tunnel.

A fragile partnership

    • EU countries are already among Georgia’s main trading partners, accounting for 17.7% of Georgian exports in 2021, followed by China (16.6%), Russia (13.3%), Azerbaijan (12.7%) and Turkey (8.7%).
    • The European Commission’s opinion on Georgia’s application for membership defined twelve priorities that the country must meet in order to obtain candidate status.
    • These include strengthening the independence of the anti-corruption authority, promoting gender equality and working toward the "de-oligarchisation” of the country.
    • The demonstrations in March 2023 against the Russian-inspired “foreign agents” law showed the division of the country and the fragility of the situation.