Caucasus - The Next Playground for Confrontation between West, Russia?

Ministers of Foreign Affairs from Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia will meet to discuss regional cooperation opportunities on Wednesday, following a meeting between EU and Turkish officials on Monday and Tuesday meant to increase diplomatic ties between Brussels and Ankara. 

The news came on Friday, a few hours later some remarks about Georgia by Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who didn't exclude the possibility of a meeting between Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Georgia’s counterpart Giorgi Margvelashvili.

In his speech in Basel, Lavrov said that Abkhazia and South Ossetia are two sovereign states.

Georgia is a country of strategic importance for Moscow, as the pipelines from Azerbaijan to Turkey are all passing through the country. In this sense, the Caucasus is likely to be the next playground for the confrontations between the West and Russia.

Against this backdrop, Turkey is set to play a key role. In this sense, the European mission to Turkey has a clear goal of finding ground to a stronger relation with an influent country.

"The visit to Turkey next week, together with Commissioners Hahn and Stylianides is a strong indication of the strategic importance of the EU-Turkey relationship and our desire to step up engagement in view of shared interests and common challenges" said HR/VP Federica Mogherini in a note released by the External Action of the European Union on Friday. 

Mogherini, Hahn and Stylianides will meet a Turkish delegation a few hours before the meeting between the meeting of Turkish, Azeri and Georgian Ministers of Foreign Affairs.

‘The Trilateral Meeting of Foreign Ministers, where bilateral and regional issues are evaluated in a comprehensive way, contributes to the development of common understanding in all areas on the basis of mutual interest, and to the consolidation of regional stability and security’ the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote on Friday announcing the meeting in Kars.