Haber7 (Turkey)
Speaking at the “Conference of Georgian Ambassadors 2020”, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili touched upon the proposal of President Erdogan on the “platform of six” and noted that the Georgian side should not remain indifferent to the Caucasian Platform
In her speech at the “Conference of Ambassadors of Georgia 2020” held via videoconference, Zurabishvili stressed that the integration of her country into NATO and the European Union (EU) is a foreign policy priority.
Recalling that in 2020 in the Caucasus, between the two neighboring countries of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, there were clashes over Nagorno-Karabakh, the Georgian leader expressed satisfaction with the signing of a ceasefire agreement between the parties.
Zurabishvili noted with regret that Georgia has not acted as an active mediator in the settlement of this conflict, adding that her country has always played a conciliatory role in the Caucasus and it is necessary to work more actively in this direction.
“Therefore, I am deeply convinced that Georgia cannot be passive and remain aloof as far as the Caucasus Platform is concerned. I hope that 2021 will be the year of our revival from this point of view, ” Zurabishvili said.
The reaction of the opposition
The opposition parties of Georgia, which expressed dissatisfaction with Zurabishvili’s positive attitude to the Caucasus Platform, recalled that in fact we are talking about the Platform of six, which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on December 10 in the Azerbaijani capital Baku.
Representatives of the opposition noted that the platform in which Russia can participate is unacceptable for Georgia, and accused Zurabishvili of taking a position that contradicts the interests of the country’s national security.
Six Platform Offer
President Erdogan, speaking about the Platform of six during his visit to Baku, noted: “Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iran, Georgia and, if they accept and comply, Armenia can also get a place on this platform. Thus, through the six-party platform, it is planned to form a regional world. Naturally, there are tasks that the regional world sets for the countries of the region. This includes infrastructure, political, diplomatic and many other issues. I told my brother today that if positive steps are taken in this direction, then we will open the doors. It is enough for these positive steps to be taken. We also do not intend to close our doors to Armenia, because we want to be the doves of peace, to take peaceful steps. In addition, we do not hate the Armenian people. The problem is with the Armenian leadership. There are more than 100 thousand Armenians in my country.”