PM highlights Tbilisi’s role as peace mediator in South Caucasus with Armenian official

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Tuesday highlighted the importance of peace and his office’s commitment to mediate for a peaceful South Caucasus region in a Tbilisi meeting with Arayik Harutyunyan, the Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister of Armenia. 

The discussion at the Government's office reviewed the “friendly and neighbourly” bilateral cooperation and noted a high-level dialogue on strategic topics could benefit not only Georgia and Armenia, but also the entire region, the Government press office said. 

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Speaking about the need to support peace and stability in the region, Garibashvili stressed Tbilisi was open to supporting “any constructive process” aimed at restoring peace and stability. 

The Georgian PM has been involved in talks as a mediator between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the past several years to help the sides resolve their long-running dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. 

Garibashvili and Philip Reeker, the United State’s official, brokered a deal in June 2021 that involved Azerbaijan’s release of 15 Armenian prisoners of war in exchange for receiving from Armenia a map of landmines in the Agdam district in the disputed region. 

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The agreement also saw captives handed over to Armenia on the Azerbaijani-Georgian border, with the Georgian authorities attending the swap. 

In July 2022, Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers, Ararat Mirzoyan and Jeyhun Bayramov, held their inaugural meeting in Tbilisi, while Tbilisi Silk Road Forum last month featured Armenian and Azerbaijani PMs speaking about the importance of peace in the region.