Tbilisi, May 27: Nervous about being forgotten by the West almost two years after its war with Russia, Georgia is boosting ties with Iran and Turkey to counter Moscow’s influence in the Caucasus, analysts say.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and a top Iranian diplomat have both visited Georgia over the last 10 days as Tbilisi seeks to revive its relations with the historic powers in the Black Sea and Caucasus region.
Georgia’s pro-Western government was backed by former US president George W. Bush in its conflicts with Russia.
But some analysts have detected a decline in interest under President Barack Obama, who has tried to “reset” US ties with Russia which plunged to a post-Cold War low after Moscow’s August 2008 war with Georgia.
“Amid declining attention from the United States and Europe towards Georgia, Tbilisi has no choice but to seek active engagement with two emerging powers, Turkey and Iran,” said the chairman of the Tbilisi-based Institute of Strategy and Development, Andro Barnov.
“Otherwise, Tbilisi risks being left face-to-face with Russia, which is determined to reassert control over its former Soviet backyard.”
US Senator and former Republican presidential candidate John McCain — a consistently impassioned supporter of Georgia — last week criticised Obama showing less attention to Georgia.
“Georgians feel that Washington is selling them out to Moscow at the price of our ‘hitting the reset button’,” McCain told a conference at the Nixon Centre, according to the prepared remarks posted on his website.
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, one of Washington’s main global foes, would seem the least suitable partner for Georgia’s fervently pro-Western President Mikheil Saakashvili.
But Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Nino Kalandadze last week hailed a “new stage” in relations with Tehran as she hosted Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast.
Mehmanparast said he had discussed the possibility of Ahmadinejad himself visiting Georgia, as well as a planned official visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in June.
Georgian Prime Minister Nika Gilauri is also due to travel to Tehran.
The warmth of relations between Tbilisi and Ankara was evident when Saakashvili hosted Erdogan in the Black Sea city of Batumi earlier this month to visit a new luxury hotel developed with Turkish investment.
“I have not seen such prompt resolution of issues, such effective inter-governmental cooperation as we have with Turkey,” Saakashvili said. Turkey is Georgia’s biggest trade partner.
Saakashvili awarded Erdogan, whom he described as a “great friend” of Georgia, with the Order of the Golden Fleece for his contribution to development of bilateral relations.
Analysts say Tbilisi is seeking deeper engagement in the Black Sea and Caucasus region from Turkey and Iran, whose Ottoman and Persian ancestors vied with Russia for influence for centuries.
“Georgia wants to prevent Moscow from becoming the first violin in the Caucasus,” Tornike Sharashenidze, an analyst with the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs, said.
“To this end Georgia wants Turkey and Iran to play a more active role in the region.”
Relations between Tbilisi and Moscow remain dire, with observers worried that the seemingly intractable dispute over Russian recognition of two breakawy Georgian regions harbours the risk for further conflict.
Alexander Rondeli, an analyst from the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies, said Georgia’s rapprochement with Turkey and Iran “is directed neither against the West nor against Russia.”
“On the contrary, if translated into a platform for positive regional cooperation of all actors involved, it would only facilitate normalisation of Georgia’s relations with Russia. It’s a win-win game,” he said.
—Agencies