"Excellent meeting" of Aliyev and Garibashvili

President Ilham Aliyev, who received Garibashvili at his residence, also made some diplomatic quotes for the press about friendship and strategic partnership.

The agenda of the meeting, according to Garibashvili, included issues of mutual interest, the importance of peaceful resolution of conflicts, the development of cooperation in the economic, energy and trade spheres, the implementation of regional projects.

The speech of the parties in public was flattering, as if the parties wanted to preserve and develop the achieved level of relations, which they considered strategic, not without reason.

Azerbaijan is a leading investor in Georgia, which in turn acts as a vital transport corridor and free space for investment. Both sides may have mutual and equal dividends in a political and economic fusion.

In 2020, the volume of exports of goods from Azerbaijan, according to the State Customs Committee, amounted to $ 461.9 million, decreased by 21.3% compared to the previous year. Georgian goods were imported for a total of $ 74.3 million, which is by 3% more than in 2019. In the first quarter of this year, the trade turnover between the two countries, according to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan, amounted to $ 280.5 million, or 6.3% of the volume of import-export operations over this period. Of these, $ 203.9 million is natural gas amounting about 1.5 billion cubic meters.

The volume of Azerbaijan's investments in Georgia is approaching $ 4 billion. The largest investor is SOCAR, which manages the gas industry of this country and has a network of gas stations in this country.

“I am delighted with your visit. I am glad to see that you have recovered.  I know that you have had a coronavirus, and therefore the visit had to be postponed. We have something to talk about, based on our friendly, partnership relations, which have a long history. We will discuss the projects that have already been implemented and those that are in the plans of our countries. I am proud that Azerbaijan has been in the first place among the investor countries of Georgia for many years,” Aliyev said.

Garibashvili began preparing the platform for his visit even before he headed the Georgian government. Speaking on February 22 in parliament before the “Georgian Dream” faction while still as a candidate for prime minister, he said, “Azerbaijan is our very close strategic partner, ruled by the wise President Ilham Aliyev, with whom I have very good relations. We will have a dialogue with the fraternal state. I believe that Mr. Aliyev, our friendly Azerbaijani side, and we will make a wise decision, we will be able to come to an agreement and find a common language, it will not be difficult for us,” Gabriashvili announced his visit to Baku.

This consistency of praises was expressed in connection with the controversial issue around the monastery complex “David Gareji”, located on the disputed undivided border between Georgia and Azerbaijan.

The topic David Gareji plays an important role in the internal political struggle in Georgia, where the religious factor is often mixed with politics, affecting the religiously politicized electorate in a dualistic way. It also became an important PR of the “Georgian Dream” against supporters of ex-President Saakashvili in the election campaign of recent years. Thus, the "Georgian Dream" itself, without knowing it, became a hostage to this topic of domestic policy. Now the monastic dream is sharpening its relevance in the context of the upcoming early parliamentary elections in 2022 due to the political crisis in the country.

Gabriashvili was pleased with the meeting with Aliyev. ON May 5, he wrote on his Twitter account, "Today I had an excellent meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev." According to him, issues of strategic partnership were discussed at the meeting.

There was information that the parties intend to resume the work of the bilateral commission on border demarcation after two years. Georgian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Zurab Pataradze expressed confidence that "at the next meeting the parties will resolve this issue in accordance with the relations of friendship and strategic partnership."

However, expecting the next parliamentary elections and because of the precariousness of the situation, one can hardly expect a final agreement on Gareji before the establishment of political equilibrium in Georgia. Although who knows, perhaps Aliyev will agree to a compromise that suits the ruling pariah in Georgia and strengthens its position before the elections.

Another topic that no one spoke about either in Georgia or in Azerbaijan in the context of the visit could be the problem of the Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli, who was kidnapped in May 2017 in Tbilisi and betrayed to official Baku as a result of a joint operation of the Georgian and Azerbaijani special services. Before the visit of Garibashvili, the topic has revived again and is gaining serious momentum to expose the operation to kidnap Mukhtarli, which is politically out of place for official Baku.  Before the visit of Garibashvili, Ali Nagiyev, the head of the State Security Service of Azerbaijan, visited Tbilisi, while Mukhtarli was interrogated by the Georgian prosecutor's office.

The case of Mukhtarli has become a weak link in bilateral relations, where Azerbaijan's position is more vulnerable, since in Georgia the talk is about a group of officials involved in the abduction, but in Azerbaijan   about the state as a whole.

Let us return to the completed negotiations, which Garibashvili's assessed as "an excellent meeting." This is a very optimistic announcement for further steps of the parties to meet each other on issues of mutual interest, the importance of peaceful resolution of conflicts, the development of cooperation in the economic, energy and trade spheres, and the implementation of regional projects. This can also include the problem of “David Gareji”, the case of Mukhtarli and others. —0—