Valeri Chechelashvili: Meeting in Washington significant for both Azerbaijan, Armenia, as well as for Georgia

The planned trilateral meeting of the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and the United States in Washington has caused a serious stir in the region, co-founder of the Center for Strategic Analysis of Georgia, well-known political scientist Valeri Chechelashvili told Report.

According to him, the region is on the threshold of a historic event, and is currently experiencing a turning point in the history of the South Caucasus: "Expectations are very high. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and US President Donald Trump are working together to remove the South Caucasus from Russia's influence. We are already seeing how this influence is declining, and the region is moving towards stability."

Chechelashvili noted that this meeting is of great importance not only for Azerbaijan and Armenia, but also for Georgia: "I believe that at present there are real opportunities to transform the South Caucasus from a hotbed of conflicts and contradictions into a region of stability and integration. This is a positive chance for all three countries."

The expert also emphasized the growing interest of the United States in the region and assessed it as a strategic opportunity: "Previously, we were hesitant: is the South Caucasus included in the palette of US foreign policy interests? Now we can say with confidence that it is. The United States is allocating serious resources in this direction."