Thomas de Waal and Natalie Sabanadze discuss the stakes in Georgia’s forthcoming election and explore how the results could affect the country’s course toward EU membership.

Security concerns are reshaping the economic and foreign policy trajectories of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. As these nations navigate complex choices about their future paths, the EU should recognize the geostrategic importance of the South Caucasus and strengthen its ties with the region.

The South Caucasus's geography—the borders the region shares with Russia​— has long overshadowed its politics. But with Moscow occupied with its war against Ukraine, countries in the region are developing alternative foreign policy priorities and recalibrating relations with the West. As Armenia moves closer to the United States and Europe, the government in Georgia is lurching towards Moscow – despite opposition from its society. Meanwhile, Armenia and Azerbaijan are in talks for a historic chance for a peace treaty which could serve as the bedrock of a new regional order.  

What is the significance of the South Caucasus for the West? How likely is a peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan? What can the U.S. do to encourage regional cooperation and reconciliation? And how should the U.S. support democratic aspirations of Georgian society? 

Join the Carnegie Endowment’s Europe program to discuss the U.S. role for a new order in the South Caucasus with Ambassador Yuri Kim, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasian Affairs;, Marie Yovanovitch, former Ambassador to Armenia and Ukraine and senior fellow in Carnegie’s Russia and Eurasia Program; and Dan Baer, director of the Europe Program at Carnegie and former U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).