Turkey, Georgia to discuss strategic ties
ANKARA - Turkish Daily News, Alexander Rondeli's comments
Turkey, Georgia to discuss strategic ties
Ankara will explore the new Georgian administration's stance on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and other issues in the first high-level visit from Georgia since the velvet revolution
FATMA DEMIRELLI
ANKARA - Turkish Daily News
Georgia's Foreign Minister Tedo Japaridze arrived in Ankara on Monday in the first-high level visit from this key Caucasus nation after a major transition of power there that came to be known as "velvet revolution."
Japaridze will be holding talks today with Turkish leaders on a set of issues, ranging from the situation in critical energy transportation projects in which Georgia is involved as a key partner, to the security concerns in the volatile region.
The new Georgian leadership recently offered Moscow advantageous terms for transit of Russian oil if Russia agreed on construction of an oil-pipeline that will, at some point, get connected to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) route, which is still under construction, instead of being shipped to vessels in the Black Sea outlet of Novorossisk.
Such an initiative, if materialized, would be more than welcomed by Turkey, mostly because it would ease the oil traffic in the narrow Straits. Russian oil is currently transported by big tankers through the Straits from Novorossisk.
As for the Georgian side, it defended the proposal, saying it would be beneficial for Russians as well. Transportation through Novorossisk is difficult not only because of the heavy traffic in the Turkish Straits but also due to severe winter conditions, said Alexander Rondeli, president of the Tbilisi-based Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies.
Rondeli said such a pipeline, which is forecasted to pass through Georgia's autonomous region of Adjaria, would help efforts to settle a dispute in the troubled province.
The Georgian administration is having difficulties in establishing control over Adjaria, a Muslim enclave on the border with Turkey. Tbilisi accuses Moscow of inciting separatism in Adjaria, as well as two breakaway provinces, South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
But prospects for realization of the Georgian proposal appear to be dim. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili received a cool response from Russian officials when he made the proposal during a visit to Moscow earlier this month. A Feb. 12 comment that appeared in the official Rossiiskaya Gazeta newspaper said it would be easier for Russia to build a pipeline under the Black Sea, or funnel oil through Romania and Bulgaria, "instead of entrusting its strategic resource to conflict-prone and still unfriendly" Georgia.
Deepening strategic ties
Turkey and Georgia have enjoyed close cooperation and partnership since Georgia emerged as an independent state out of the ashes of the former Soviet Union.
Economic and strategic ties between the two nations and areas of cooperation will be discussed in Japaridze's talks today, now that a new administration is in power in Tbilisi.
Following the velvet revolution that carried Saakashvili and his team to power, the Turkish government has been subject to criticisms of "aloofness" in what is going on in this key Caucasus partner and lack of a detailed policy, as compared to the active Russian stance.
The visit of Japaridze would force Ankara to develop a more sophisticated and active policy towards developments in Georgia, according to Turkish analysts. If the Georgian government fails to establish control over neighboring Adjaria, Turkey would also end up in being neighbor to pro-Russian Adjaria, instead of a Georgian administration that promotes better ties with Turkey and the western world.
The presence of a Russian military base, which continued despite Georgian objection, is an integral part of the Adjaria problem.
Analysts said contributions that Turkey can make to efforts to convince Adjarian leadership not to harm Georgian territorial integrity were significant. But the Adjaria issue was not expected to figure prominently in Japaridze's talks here, sources said.
Japaridze's talks with Turkish leaders are also expected to focus on a possible visit by Saakashvili to Turkey in the near future. Following his election as president, Saakashvili visited Moscow earlier this month and is scheduled to head to the United States soon.