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Turkey, Georgia explore new strategy
25/03/2011
Turkey is about to initiate a passport-free zone with neighbouring
Georgia for the first time in its history.
By Alakbar Raufoglu for Southeast European Times -- 03/25/11
Georgians could soon enter Turkey without passports. [Maia
Metskhvarishvili/SETimes]
In an unprecedented step, Turkey is drafting a strategy that will
include passport-less travel with Georgia, an administrative official
informed SETimes.
"This is going to be an outstanding change for our region,"
Turkish-Georgian Friendship Group Chairman Celal Elbay said. "Like in
the EU, our citizens will be able to travel to each other with only
state Ids."
The so-called "United Caucasus" project was discussed by Turkish
Foreign Minister Ahmed Davutoglu and Georgian President Mikheil
Saakashvili in Tbilisi last month.
Since then, Elbay and his team have visited Tbilisi twice to follow up
on Ankara's strategy of initiatives regarding the integration of the
two countries' economies.
"We open doors towards each other in order to bring peace and
development and economic strength to our region," he said.
Georgia shares longstanding historical ties and burgeoning trade with
Turkey. Tbilisi's precarious geopolitical relationship with Russia is
also a significant factor driving its calculations.
Under the strategy, Georgia proposes to unify the alliance between the
three South Caucasus countries and Turkey. Ankara's ambitions are to
spread its Georgia initiatives throughout the Caucasus in the future.
"Turkey and Georgia can extend mini-EU type co-operation in the
region, by involving the other neighbouring countries, but this idea
needs time," Sinan Ogan, chairman of the Ankara-based Turkish Centre
for International Relations and Strategic Analysis, told SETimes.
"Without solving the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the
Caucasus Union [will fail]."
"Rather than focusing on a vision that will not be reachable in the
foreseeable future, more energy should be expended on resolving
existing conflicts and developing more productive bilateral relations
in the South Caucasus," agreed Janusz Bugajski of the Centre for
Strategic and International Studies.
"Although the idea [Caucasus Union] may be admirable, it would be
difficult to unify a region that is beset by inter-state conflicts,
separatist struggles, and an interfering Russian government that seeks
to exploit regional disputes to promote its state ambitions," he told
SETimes.
"Turkey and Georgia enjoy many areas of political, security, economic,
energy, transportation and cultural co-operation, coupled with a
border policy that will render passports irrelevant," said John
Sitilides, a government affairs strategist with Trilogy Advisors LLC
in Washington.
Deepening co-operation and simplified border crossings are a far cry
from a union of states. "The nations of the Caucasus will need to
anchor themselves in surer sovereign structures, and more enduring
institutional relationships," he added.
MIT Centre for International Studies Executive Director John Tirman
believes Turkey should strive to develop open economic relations in
the Caucasus, but a political union is not going to happen in the next
decade, if ever.
"Normal diplomatic relations, free trade zones, and settlement of
outstanding grievances need to come first," he said.
http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2011/03/25/feature-01
From: A. Papazian
25/03/2011
Turkey is about to initiate a passport-free zone with neighbouring
Georgia for the first time in its history.
By Alakbar Raufoglu for Southeast European Times -- 03/25/11
Georgians could soon enter Turkey without passports. [Maia
Metskhvarishvili/SETimes]
In an unprecedented step, Turkey is drafting a strategy that will
include passport-less travel with Georgia, an administrative official
informed SETimes.
"This is going to be an outstanding change for our region,"
Turkish-Georgian Friendship Group Chairman Celal Elbay said. "Like in
the EU, our citizens will be able to travel to each other with only
state Ids."
The so-called "United Caucasus" project was discussed by Turkish
Foreign Minister Ahmed Davutoglu and Georgian President Mikheil
Saakashvili in Tbilisi last month.
Since then, Elbay and his team have visited Tbilisi twice to follow up
on Ankara's strategy of initiatives regarding the integration of the
two countries' economies.
"We open doors towards each other in order to bring peace and
development and economic strength to our region," he said.
Georgia shares longstanding historical ties and burgeoning trade with
Turkey. Tbilisi's precarious geopolitical relationship with Russia is
also a significant factor driving its calculations.
Under the strategy, Georgia proposes to unify the alliance between the
three South Caucasus countries and Turkey. Ankara's ambitions are to
spread its Georgia initiatives throughout the Caucasus in the future.
"Turkey and Georgia can extend mini-EU type co-operation in the
region, by involving the other neighbouring countries, but this idea
needs time," Sinan Ogan, chairman of the Ankara-based Turkish Centre
for International Relations and Strategic Analysis, told SETimes.
"Without solving the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the
Caucasus Union [will fail]."
"Rather than focusing on a vision that will not be reachable in the
foreseeable future, more energy should be expended on resolving
existing conflicts and developing more productive bilateral relations
in the South Caucasus," agreed Janusz Bugajski of the Centre for
Strategic and International Studies.
"Although the idea [Caucasus Union] may be admirable, it would be
difficult to unify a region that is beset by inter-state conflicts,
separatist struggles, and an interfering Russian government that seeks
to exploit regional disputes to promote its state ambitions," he told
SETimes.
"Turkey and Georgia enjoy many areas of political, security, economic,
energy, transportation and cultural co-operation, coupled with a
border policy that will render passports irrelevant," said John
Sitilides, a government affairs strategist with Trilogy Advisors LLC
in Washington.
Deepening co-operation and simplified border crossings are a far cry
from a union of states. "The nations of the Caucasus will need to
anchor themselves in surer sovereign structures, and more enduring
institutional relationships," he added.
MIT Centre for International Studies Executive Director John Tirman
believes Turkey should strive to develop open economic relations in
the Caucasus, but a political union is not going to happen in the next
decade, if ever.
"Normal diplomatic relations, free trade zones, and settlement of
outstanding grievances need to come first," he said.
http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2011/03/25/feature-01
From: A. Papazian