ArmInfo.In general, it is not difficult to answer the question why Georgia will not participate in the "3 + 3" format. First, Georgia is a country whose two regions are occupied by the Russian Federation, and this is the main reason for force majeure.
Gela Vasadze, Director of Regional Programs at the Georgian Strategic Analysis Center- GSAC, expressed a similar opinion to ArmInfo. "In this light, not being at all a supporter of the current Georgian authorities, I can only welcome the recent statement of the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Ministers of Georgia David Zalkaliani about Georgia's refusal to participate in the" 3 + 3 "regional cooperation format. Georgia's participation in the same format with Russia is simple impossible, "he stressed.
At the same time, in Vasadze's opinion, it would be wrong to believe that Georgia rejects all formats of negotiations with the Russian Federation. In this light, he noted the format of the negotiations in Geneva, where, in addition to Georgia and the Russian Federation, the US and the EU are participating. As well as the format of the Karasin-Abashidze negotiations, where current issues of economic relations are resolved, there are also local formats where problematic issues on the line of occupation are resolved. Against this background, Georgia's participation in another format, into which Moscow, according to his forecasts, will definitely try to drag Abkhazia and the so-called South Ossetia, is not only meaningless for Georgia, but also carries quite specific risks.
According to the political scientist, as far as economic cooperation is concerned, all issues of regional cooperation in the logistics and transportation of energy resources through Georgia and by Georgia, are easily resolved in the formats of the Georgia-Turkey-Azerbaijan regional projects and in the formats of Georgia's relations with Armenia and Iran. In this light, he also does not see any special problems that could be solved in the "3 + 3" format.
"And the last thing, as my great friend and colleague Valery Chechelashvili rightly says about this, there is not only a "plus", but also a "minus" in" 3 + 3 ". The "minus" is that this will affect our relations with the US and the EU, that is, the most important partners of Georgia, one of which, the United States, according to the Charter on Strategic Partnership, guarantees the security of Georgia, and Georgia is bound by an associate membership agreement with others, which is of course very important. Therefore, in response to proposals for participation in "3 + 3" we say - thank you, but no, "Vasadze summed up.