Although late, but the President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili still had to send congratulations to Ilham Aliyev on his re-election as President of Azerbaijan. She would probably have ignored such an important event, at least on a regional scale in its broader sense, but there was no way to ignore the scandal that erupted in Georgia itself, in its power structures because of her failure to congratulate him: the ruling party of the country accused her, at the very least, of “political myopia”.
In particular, Thea Tsulukiani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Culture and Sports, with her trademark bluntness and harshness, said that “the President of Georgia’s continued silence, refraining from extending congratulations to Mr. Aliyev on his electoral victory, I believe, is detrimental to our state. We wish to remind our president that this region has witnessed heightened geopolitical and security risks in recent years. The Georgian government is currently taking measures to mitigate these risks. Despite this, the President, in her capacity as Commander-in-Chief, refrains from extending congratulations to the leader of our neighboring, partner, friendly state on his electoral victory. This is political myopia.”
Instead of preserving and developing partnership relations with Azerbaijan, the President is doing exactly the opposite, she added. Deputy Prime Minister reminded Zourabichvili that she congratulated Emmanuel Macron in a similar situation even before the official confirmation of the results of the presidential election in France.
Another Deputy Prime Minister, Defense Minister Irakli Chikovani also criticized the President: “I do not understand the President’s inaction, because it is clear to everyone that we have strategic partnership and cooperation with the Republic of Azerbaijan, special relations with the leader of Azerbaijan, which has repeatedly contributed to the implementation of successful projects between our countries. On the other hand, common diplomatic etiquette requires that such a congratulatory message be delivered.” By the way, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze was among the first to congratulate Aliyev.
And then the most ridiculous thing happened: the website of the President of Georgia posted a congratulatory letter from Salome Zourabichvili “on behalf of the people of Georgia” and her personally, dated February 9, that is earlier than it was sent to Ilham Aliyev. And then the ruling Georgian Dream party got another opportunity to “bite” the President: note that Georgia is a parliamentary republic and its top official is the Prime Minister. In fact, the president is a figurehead, who nevertheless causes a lot of trouble for the Georgian authorities.
Mamuka Mdinaradze, executive secretary of the ruling party, has stated that the Zourabichvili administration sent a letter of congratulations to Aliyev only after the campaign launched in the media, indicating the wrong date. Initially, he said, the presidential administration itself told journalists that it was waiting for official figures from Azerbaijan’s Central Election Commission. “Then the administration says it has already sent congratulations, that is, it is a lie. This is not a suspicion, this is a lie,” the politician emphasized.
The message of the President of Georgia contains “best wishes” to the President of Azerbaijan for “continued success in your endeavors while wishing the friendly Azerbaijani people peace and prosperity.” “I firmly believe,” the Georgian president assures, “that, through joint efforts, we will elevate the good-neighborly, friendly relations, and strategic partnership between our two brotherly countries to new heights.”
“Where have you been before, and who did you love?” is an appropriate question in this case. The French-born Georgian diplomat, who was once lured to Georgia by Mikheil Saakashvili with the portfolio of the Foreign Minister (however, Zourabichvili soon went into opposition to the country’s president, and now she is in opposition to the ruling party), “loves” and pursues the interests of France and its Brussels-Washington leadership, which, unlike the leaders of the “axis of evil” states, such as China, Russia, Belarus, Iran, as well as countries of the “lesser evil”, have not bothered to congratulate the “authoritarian Aliyev”. So Zourabichvili followed the path of her direct leadership: indeed, Aliyev ruled for 20 years without a break, which is not good, because it is “undemocratic”.
Not only that, Azerbaijan’s relations with France, EU governing bodies and “some” US agencies have deteriorated, as Aliyev, who pursues a sovereign policy from which neither threats nor punishments have been able to divert him, consistently carries out what he considers useful for his country and its independence. And this is not something that can be forgiven.
And why should the “civilized world”, which, incidentally, counts on Azerbaijan’s energy resources, congratulate Aliyev, when, according to the OSCE/ODIHR observers’ assessments (the EU said they were “noted”), “the election took place in a restrictive environment and in the legal framework that restricts fundamental rights and freedoms, including freedom of assembly, expression and the media”. Although the mission had to admit that the preparations for the election were “efficiently managed”, the process itself was “marked by the stifling of critical voices and the absence of political alternatives”. And, of course, the relevant document emphasized “widespread disregard for mandatory procedures, lack of transparency and numerous serious violations.”
For some reason none of this was noticed by other foreign observers widely represented at the presidential election in Azerbaijan, such as observers from the CIS (which does not count in the West, being the enemy), from the Mexican Parliament, the Youth Network of the Non-Aligned Movement, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Economic Cooperation Organization, etc.
Be that as it may, Zourabichvili has made a serious blunder. Some in Georgia make excuses for her, saying she was “offended” by not having been notified about Aliyev’s visit to Tbilisi the year before last. But issues of this level are decided by the government. They also say that Zourabichvili’s close interaction with Paris would hardly bring her and Aliyev closer together, since France and Macron personally pursue an openly anti-Azerbaijani policy, though he is not the only one in the West. And Aliyev openly criticizes him.
And now the opponents of the government condemn the ruling party for effectively sharing Aliyev’s position: that is, it “has the nerve” to criticize or disagree with the opinions of European politicians, but at the same time “pretends” that it dreams of Georgia’s membership in the European Union.
In short, no sooner had one scandal with Zourabichvili on the grounds of delayed, or, to put it bluntly, forced congratulations to Aliyev, the head of the closest and friendliest state, subsided, than a second scandal broke out, again with the Georgian president at the center of it: she once again went abroad without the government’s approval (earlier, the president’s “independence” was the reason for the attempt to impeach her), and the very fact of her attending the Munich Security Conference clearly suggests a hidden agenda.
In the unauthorized trip, the authorities saw the president’s intention to “rally the opposition” around her. And the latter praised Zourabichvili for attending the conference after the attempt to impeach her for travels not coordinated with the government. But Prime Minister Kobakhidze was not invited to the conference, and this, first of all, pleased the opposition, as it “elevated” the President and “belittled” the Prime Minister, who did not receive an invitation.
In other words, it turns out that in Europe Zourabichvili has much more weight as a pro-Western politician, while the West disregards the Prime Minister, believing him to be “the Kremlin’s lapdog”.
These two stories concerning gross violation of diplomatic etiquette on the grounds of the election in Azerbaijan and another violation of the Constitution by the President not without the efforts of the Europeans who do not like either Georgian or Azerbaijani authorities and are trying to discredit both of them, show that the situation in the South Caucasus is being seriously rocked both from within according to the script written abroad and under the direct pressure of their bosses.
The situation is both shameful and dangerous for the region in its small and large scale, especially since the conflict potential of the South Caucasus, Central Asia and almost the entire post-Soviet space, as well as the Middle East neighboring the South Caucasus, is still far from an atmosphere conducive to cooling it down. And internal instability in Georgia is only adding fuel to the fire.
As for the Zourabichvili/Aliyev story, it could not harm the latter by definition, but it could do a lot of harm to the image of the Georgian President in adequate circles. And one should think that it will not affect the strategic nature of relations between Baku and Tbilisi in any way.
Irina Jorbenadze
Translated from Minval.az
