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In which case will Georgia stay beyond the Silk Road?

In which case will Georgia stay beyond the Silk Road?
In which case will Georgia stay beyond the Silk Road?

A nine-point plan for a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh has been signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. As a result of these agreements, Azerbaijan and Armenia were given the opportunity to make some independent decisions. According to experts, Azerbaijan is given a corridor to Nakhchivan. This disrupts the 30-year-old unshakable situation in the region and creates new realities, which means that Russia's monopoly influence is limited, and Turkey becomes a geopolitical player in the region.

"One might think that Georgia was 'thrown' out of the Silk Road, but I look at it differently, not 'thrown out,' but challenged," Dato Gochava, a railway expert and president of the Professional Railway Club, told report.ge.

According to him, Georgia now has to play at the highest level of railway logistics in the region, as there is no other way. Otherwise, Gochava claims, Georgia is doomed to stay beyond the Silk Road.

According to Davit Gochava, if we consider the cooperation between Turkey and Russia in this conflict, it is not ruled out that the Kars-Gyumri-Nakhchivan-Meghri-Baku route will be launched in a few years. In this case:

1. Armenia will receive a railway connection to the Black Sea and Mediterranean ports via Turkey;

2. Azerbaijan will receive a railway connection with the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic;

3. The railway will become an important infrastructural component of the rehabilitation of the areas returned by Azerbaijan.

4. As a result of the implementation of this route, Turkey's northern and eastern regions will benefit, which are significantly behind the western and southern regions.

5. And most importantly: the Akhalkalaki base railway station will have a competitor in the form of the Gyumri railway station.

Asked by report.ge what Georgia should do to remain an important player on the Silk Road map, Gochava said that first of all, a joint venture should be set up on the Kars Railway, which stipulates a delayed agreement with Azerbaijan. According to him, this is the place for foreign investments.

"Second: Akhalkalaki railway station should become a fulcrum, which provides the highest level of confrontation between the European and Russian railway systems. To do this, the Georgian side should cooperate with the Turkish side in all areas, especially in the joint training of staff, both at the Georgian Technical University and in Turkish universities, if possible, in European higher education institutions. A unified team should be created to ensure the modern operation of the Akhalkalaki railway station. These are the two most important challenges we have to overcome, no matter what," Gochava tells report.ge.

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