A closer partnership among Georgia, Turkey and Azerbaijan is likely to be directed against Armenia at any moment, a former parliament member has 
said, commenting on the three countries’ recent ministerial-level talks in Nakicevan.
“in case the Georgian transport route, which serves to carry goods to Armenia, is closed, we will find ourselves in quite a difficult situation,” Vardan Khachatryan told Tert.am.
The Georgian, Turkish and Azerbaijani defense ministers met in Nakicevan on Wednesday to discuss cooperation plans. The agreed mutually that a deeper partnership among states would be directed to national security in the defense sector in future. “Against the backdrop of the existing challenges and the security risks in the region, we must commit ourselves to a closer cooperation,” Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Alasania told his counterparts.
Khachatryan said he sees that Turkey exercises a strong influence on Georgia. “A large part of Georgia’s economy is under Turkey’s control. From this point of view, their desire to join NATO with rapid efforts is linked to the fact that Turkey is going to be their elder brother in the alliance,” he noted.
Khachatryan said he nonetheless hopes that Georgia will take sides with Armenia, opposing to the existing alliance. “We should not count on the Georgians as a brother nation; they will act in the interests of Armenia, as they have done many times before,” he added.
Commenting on Russia’s position, the former lawmaker said that he doesn’t think the country would derive any benefits in case of abandoning Armenia. “Should Russia surrender its strategic ally, it will split up, as the CSTO [Collective Security Treaty Organization] will stop operating then. Nobody will believe it has influence in the world, whereas the CSTO considers itself a challenger of NATO,” he added.
Hayk Sanosyan, a former Republican lawmaker from Georgia’s Armenian populated region of Javakhk, said he doesn’t think the agreements reached during the ministerial talks pose any threat at all. “Their closer relations cannot pose any hazard to us as Georgia is our friend,” he said, noting that the country traditionally maintains close economic ties with Azerbaijan and Turkey.
“I think it was Turkey’s initiative to hold the meeting in Nakicevan. And I believe that the proactive step by Turkey was directed against Russia in an attempt to demonstrate that they hold dominant positions in the region. It was an imitation, so I don’t treat it seriously; it is not a threat,” he said.
source: Tert.am