Cooperation between Azerbaijan and Georgia should be based on strengthening sovereignty, said Bakar Berikashvili, a professor at the Georgian American University, according to Report's Georgian bureau.
Speaking during a roundtable discussion in Tbilisi titled Georgia-Azerbaijan: Strategic Partnership and a Shared Future, Berikashvili emphasized the importance of developing relations between Azerbaijan and Georgia on the principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and enhanced diplomatic cooperation.
He noted that the world is currently experiencing a period of political, geopolitical, cultural, and social transformation. In his view, the international order based on liberal universalism that emerged after the Cold War is facing a crisis, bringing the issue of state sovereignty back to the forefront.
Berikashvili said the ongoing changes create opportunities for post-Soviet states to further strengthen their sovereignty. According to him, achieving this goal also requires elevating diplomacy and the culture of negotiations to a new level.
The expert stressed that Azerbaijan-Georgia relations should be built on these principles, with both countries continuing cooperation aimed at preventing external interference and strengthening interstate diplomatic ties while maintaining mutual respect for each other's sovereignty.
He also pointed out that strengthening sovereignty is linked to states deriving legitimacy from their own people and societies, as well as developing diplomatic relations based on mutual respect.