GEORGIA’S STANDPOINT ON THE NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT (1991-1994)


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Home Editorial board Publication ethics Information Current Archive Rules for authors Contacts	DOI: 10.46698/VNC.2025.28.21.005 GEORGIA’S STANDPOINT ON THE NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT (1991-1994) Tarkhanova, Zhanna D. Kavkaz Forum. 2025. Issue 21. Abstract: The article analyzes Georgia’s standpoint on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which involved the Republic of Azerbaijan and its former autonomy, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, as well as Armenia. This conflict had a major impact on key aspects of security, social progress, and economic development in another former Soviet republic, Georgia. In the early 1990-s, two armed ethnopolitical conflicts also broke out on the territory of Georgia: between Georgia and South Ossetia, and between Georgia and Abkhazia. At the same time, civil confrontation within Georgian society was intensifying, which led to the outbreak of a civil war and a change of power in 1992. Based on the analysis of Georgian media, official documents, and statements by the President of Georgia, the author concludes that Georgia adhered to a policy of «neutrality», not supporting any of the parties in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and not interfering in the conflict directly. Nevertheless, similar problems with Azerbaijan, including ethnic conflicts, led to the formation of a common strategy for maintaining territorial stability. This was reflected in the policy of «equidistance» and the mediating role of Georgia in the negotiation process held in Tbilisi. Common threats and problems that Azerbaijan and Georgia had to face served as a catalyst for strengthening and deepening political relations and developing trade and economic ties between the countries. An analysis of the political statements of the heads of state, as well as other documents, allows us to conclude that Georgia has consistently sided with Azerbaijan for many years, including at the international level. In particular, on March 14, 2008, Georgia supported the adoption of Resolution 62/243 of the UN General Assembly «The situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan», which was proposed by the Republic of Azerbaijan at the 86th plenary session. The study uses methods of holistic analysis and a comparative-historical approach, which made it possible to identify the main aspects of the Georgian foreign policy strategy on this issue through the study of regional media materials, political statements of state leaders and other sources. Keywords: Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, South Caucasus, Republic of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia. Language: Russian Download the full text For citation: Tarkhanova, Zh.D. Georgia’s standpoint on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict (1991-1994). KAVKAZ-FORUM. 2025, iss. 21(28), pp. 105-115. (In Russian). DOI 10.46698/VNC.2025.28.21.005 + References 1. 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