“We really hope that the peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed and it will be a landmark treaty,” he said after talks with his Armenian counterpart Nikol Pashinian. “Georgia is ready to positively assist in that process.”
Kobakhidze made similar comments when he visited Baku earlier this month, shortly after fresh Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations held in Germany.
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan confirmed on March 7 that the conflicting sides did not make major progress towards the peace accord. He indicated that Azerbaijan remains reluctant to unequivocally recognize Armenia’s Soviet-era borders and stop demanding an extraterritorial corridor to the Nakhichevan exclave.
Speaking at a joint news briefing with Pashinian, Kobakhidze stressed that Georgia recognizes Armenia’s territorial integrity “without reservations.”
Pashinian said that this, coupled with Armenia’s recognition of Georgia’s internationally recognized territory, is a key element of a Georgian-Armenian declaration on “strategic partnership” signed by him and Kobakhidze’s predecessor Irakli Gharibashvili in Tbilisi in January.
Pashinian said that Georgian-Armenian relations will also be “directly” affected by the European Union’s decision late last year to grant Georgia the status of EU membership candidate. Yerevan welcomes the EU’s decision, added the Armenian leader.
Amid the Armenian government’s mounting tensions with Russia, some members of Pashinian’s entourage have suggested that Armenia also seek to eventually join the EU. Pashinian called on March 14 for a “public discussion” on the issue.