Page 58 - bne magazine February 2024_20240206

58 I Eurasia bne February 2024
After a year as prime minister, Ivanishvili retired from public life in 2013, only to return in 2018 and retire again in 2021.
Outside politics, Ivanishvili, whose total assets are valued at $6.55 billion, according to Forbes, continues to make headlines for his luxurious lifestyle and his business dealings. He's known for moving huge, old trees to his park by the Black Sea, a project that shows his power and wealth and gets both admiration and criticism.
His involvement in financial disputes, notably an almost $1 billion conflict with Swiss bank Credit Suisse, and changes in his wealth also keep him in the spotlight.
But it is his continuing political influence that has been the most constant subject of speculation and controversy. His involvement in politics, even when he held no official position, has been an open secret, often overshadowing the formal political structure.
In 2021 Ivanishvili stated he would end all political consultations with Georgian Dream representatives. However,
upon his return to politics for the third time, he revealed that he had been
in communication with two to three party leaders to help maintain a stable situation within the team, describing this as a normal occurrence.
The EU's call for deoligarchisation as
a condition for Georgia’s accession to the bloc is widely interpreted as a direct challenge to Ivanishvili's informal
role in the country's governance. The EU awarded Georgia candidate status last month but reiterated its call for deoligarchisation. By taking an official position within Georgian Dream, Ivanishvili might therefore be aiming to address this criticism.
The internal dynamics of Georgian politics will also be affected by Ivanishvili's re-entry. The controversy surrounding the "agents of foreign influence" law, reminiscent of similar legislation in Russia, has damaged Georgian Dream's reputation.
Despite this, the party continues to hold significant public support, as indicated by recent polls. Ivanishvili's presence
is expected to stabilise the party's standing and possibly steer it through the upcoming parliamentary elections. Under the new party rules, as the honorary chairman, Ivanishvili can now nominate the prime minister candidate
for the party and also call special party meetings.
In his address, Ivanishvili also
pointed to the increasing complexity and challenges of the geopolitical environment surrounding Georgia.
As the country Georgia moves towards EU membership, its continuing close relationship with Russia is likely to create more difficulties.
Considering Ivanishvili's background of building his wealth in post-Soviet Russia and his alleged ongoing connections with Russian political and business leaders, his re-entry into politics could also potentially deepen Georgia's relationship with Russia.
Tbilisi is also enjoying a newly announced strategic relationship with China, which involves interests in the Middle Corridor, a trade route from China to the EU that bypasses Russia.
In the coming months it will be interesting to observe whether Ivanishvili's return to frontline politics will promote the country’s links with Russia and China, or whether it will support Georgia's pursuit of joining the EU, the other major foreign policy goal mentioned in his return address.
Azerbaijan demands are a 'blow' to peace process, Pashinyan says
Ani Avetisyan
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has expressed concern over recent demands by Azerbaijan for the transfer of villages lost in the early 1990s, which he sees as a major setback for the peace process.
On January 10 Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said in a televised interview that the Azerbaijan exclaves and the "four villages that are not exclaves [...] should be returned to Azerbaijan without any preconditions".
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The issue of the exclaves, along with the question of the exact borders, have long been debated by the two neighbours, with the relevant border commissions continuing meetings on the issues of border demarcation and delimitation.
In a parliament meeting on January
13, Pashinyan stressed that the agreed basis for peace, border demarcation and delimitation between Armenia and Azerbaijan is the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration. This document recognises
the territorial integrity of both nations on the basis of their Soviet-era borders.
Pashinyan stressed that these principles were reaffirmed in agreements following the Prague meeting in October 2022, the subsequent Sochi meeting and the Brussels meeting in July 2023. He criticised Azerbaijan for contradicting these agreements at the highest level, suggesting a shift in the established logic.