Armenia–Georgia relations
Georgia |
Armenia |
---|---|
Diplomatic mission | |
Embassy of Georgia, Yerevan | Embassy of Armenia, Tbilisi |
Foreign relations exist between Armenia and Georgia. Both countries were former Soviet republics of the Soviet Union. Both countries' governments have had generally positive relations, but there have also been some problems.
Georgia is a member of GUAM, which leaves Armenia out of regional transportation and energy projects.
Relations with Georgia are of particular importance for Armenia because under the border blockades imposed against Armenia by
The Javakheti Region in southern Georgia contains a large Armenian population and although there have been local civic organizations, such as
Some Armenians believe they are victims of a policy to shift the Samtskhe-Javakheti region's demographic balance since a number of Georgian families were settled there. Armenians are also underrepresented in the government, which leads to the perception of discrimination and mutual distrust. There were several protests, some of them turning violent after clashes with law enforcement agents.[3]
Georgia also supported Azerbaijan against Armenia in United Nations General Assembly Resolution 62/243, and Armenia has repeatedly voted against the United Nations resolutions on Abkhazia that reiterate the right of return of all displaced persons and refugees to Georgia's breakaway regions. Despite the stated differences, disagreements and conflicting interests, bilateral relations between both countries are stable and developing.
Minorities
There are nearly 168,102
Country comparison
Armenia | Georgia | |
---|---|---|
Coat of arms | ||
Population
|
3,018,854 | 3,713,804 |
Area | 29,743 km2 (11,484sq mi) | 69,700 km2 (26,900sq mi) |
Population Density
|
108.4/km2 (280.7/sq mi) | 53.5/km2 (138.6/sq mi) |
Capital | Yerevan | Tbilisi |
Largest City | Yerevan – 1,121,900 (1,230,000 Metro) | Tbilisi – 1,171,100 (1,485,293 Metro) |
Government | Unitary parliamentary republic | Unitary parliamentary constitutional republic |
Official languages | Armenian
|
Georgian |
Current Leader | President Vahagn Khachaturyan Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan |
President Salome Zourabichvili Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze |
Main religions | 92.5% Christian, , 0.8% Yazidism 4.4% None/Other |
83.4% Roman Catholic Church , 1.2% None/Other |
Ethnic groups | 98.1% Armenians, 1.2% Yazidis, 0.4% Russians, 0.3% other | 86.8% Georgians, 6.2% Azerbaijanis, 4.5% Armenians, 0.7% Russians, 2.1% other |
GDP (nominal) | US$10.106 billion ($3,032 per capita) | US$17.83 billion ($4,285 per capita) |
GDP (PPP) | $43.42 billion ($14,643 per capita)[5] | $63.04 billion ($16,997 per capita)[6] |
History
Armenia and Georgia have a long history of cultural and political relations. The interaction peaked in the Middle Ages when both nations engaged in prolific cultural dialogue and allied themselves against the neighboring Muslim empires. There were frequent intermarriages between Armenian and Georgian royal and noble families, and both ethnicities intermingled in several border areas.
The Roman Conquest
This close association with Armenia brought upon the country an invasion (65 BC ) by the Roman general
During this time Armenia and Pontus were actively expanding at the expense of Rome, taking over its Eastern Mediterranean possessions.
However, the success of the anti-Roman alliance did not last long. As a result of the brilliant Roman campaigns of Pompey and Lucullus from the west, and the Parthian invasion from the south, Armenia lost a significant part of its conquests by 65 BC, devolving into a Roman-Parthian dependency. At the same time, the Kingdom of Pontus was completely destroyed by the Romans and all its territory including Colchis were incorporated into the Roman Empire as her provinces.
The former Kingdom of Colchis became the Roman province of
In the late 4th century, Rome had to give up Albania and most of Armenia to
While the Georgian kingdom of Colchis was administered as a Roman province,
In the 2nd century AD, Iberia strengthened her position in the area, especially during the reign of King
In the 3rd century AD, the
Early Middle Ages
With their status of "King of Kings" (Shahanshah),[9] Armenian kings authority also carried over to the neighboring states of Georgia, Caucasian Albania and several of the Arab emirates.[10]
Middle Ages
The second half of the 11th century was marked by the strategically significant invasion of the
The struggle against the
The temporary fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1204 to the Crusaders left Georgia as the strongest Christian state in the whole East Mediterranean area. Muslim power in
Mongol invasions
The kingdom of Georgia flourished during the 10th to 12th centuries, and fell to the Mongol invasions of Georgia by 1243, and after a brief reunion under George V of Georgia to the Timurid Empire.
Ottoman and Persian domination
By 1490, Georgia was fragmented into a number of petty kingdoms and principalities, which throughout the
Provinces of the Russian Empire
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2011) |
.
Transcaucasian Federation (1917–1918)
During the
Georgian–Armenian War (1918)
During the final stages of World War I, the Armenians and Georgians had been defending against the advance of the
The
As Soviet republics
Transcaucasian SFSR (1922–1936)
From March 12, 1922, to December 5, 1936, Armenia and Georgia were a part of the
Armenian SSR and Georgian SSR (1936–1991)
In the Soviet Union,
Nevertheless, as with various other ethnic minorities who lived in the Soviet Union under Stalin, tens of thousands of Armenians were executed and deported. In 1936,
-
Flag ofTranscaucasian SFSR
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Flag ofGeorgian SSR
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Flag ofArmenian SSR
As independent states
On March 17, 1991, Armenia, along with the Baltics, Georgia and
Georgia declared independence on
Armenian-Georgian relations in the post-independence period have been mixed but cooperative. The two states are both allied with the other one's adversaries (Armenia with Russia, Georgia with Azerbaijan and Turkey)[citation needed], but they are nevertheless obliged to maintain cooperative ties: the border blockades imposed by Turkey and Azerbaijan on Armenia makes Georgia (and, via a single route, Iran) the only possible exit and entry point for Armenian imports and exports.
Recent revelations indicate that Yerevan had taken steps to assure Tbilisi that it had Armenia's all-but-official support in the outbreak of the 2008 South Ossetian and Abkhazian conflict. Armenia offered itself as a safe haven for Georgians escaping the conflict, and at one point, temporarily housed at least 500 Georgian families escaping the war. To this day, Armenia has not recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states. However, the establishment of diplomatic relations between Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and the separatist Republic of Artsakh has drawn criticism from the Georgian government, notably during President Salome Zourabichvili's visit to Armenia in March 2019. Moreover, the Armenian Apostolic Church's decision to place Armenian churches in Abkhazia under the jurisdiction of its South Russian Eparchy instead of the Church's Eparchy of Georgia was rescinded after a meeting between President Zourabichvili and Catholicos Karekin II.[citation needed]
According to Wikileaks, however, Armenia's foreign diplomats grew increasingly frustrated with Tbilisi's inability to respond to calls or diplomatic cables from Yerevan.[18] Despite their reluctance to warmly embrace each other diplomatically, the differences between the two nations are more often highlighted by political rather than social or historical differences.
Positive steps have been taken to strengthen ties between the two nations. In January 2011, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvilli paid an official visit to Armenia immediately after his initial visit to Washington. Both the Georgian and Armenian presidents seem to hold each other in high esteem, and Georgia's push to remove itself from the Russian sphere of influence in the Caucasus Region has translated to an increase of cooperation, positivity and productivity in relations with its immediate neighbors. Tbilisi recently made an effort to address the socioeconomic plight of the Georgian-Armenians living in Javakheti, a source of tension between the two nations, by building a main road that connects the region with Tbilisi as well as proposing new projects in the region, one of which involves the creation of a national park.
Diplomacy
See also
- Armenia–Georgia border
- Anti-Armenian sentiment in Georgia
- Armenians in Georgia
- Georgians in Armenia
- Eastern Partnership
- Euronest Parliamentary Assembly
- EU Strategy for the South Caucasus
References
- ^ "Armenians of Georgia Urge to Stop Barbarous Destruction of Armenian Cultural Heritage". PanARMENIAN.Net. Retrieved 2008-11-29.
- ^ "Protest Action Against Encroachments on Armenian Churches in Georgia Held in Yerevan". defacto.am. Retrieved 2008-11-29.
- ^ "Georgia's Armenian and Azeri Minorities". Reuters AlertNet. 22 November 2006. Archived from the original on 5 September 2008. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
- ^ 2002 Georgia census Archived August 31, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "GDP per capita, PPP (Current international $) - Armenia | Data".
- ^ "GDP per capita, PPP (Current international $) - Georgia | Data".
- ^ Braund, D., Georgia in Antiquity: A History of Colchis and Transcaucasian Iberia 550 BC – AD 562, Oxford University Press, 1996, p 36
- ^ "J. B. Bury: History of the Later Roman Empire • Vol. 2 Chap. XVI". penelope.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
- ^ Tim Greenwood, Emergence of the Bagratuni Kingdoms, p. 52, in Armenian Kars and Ani, Richard Hovannisian, ed.
- ^ (in Armenian) Arakelyan, Babken N. «Աշոտ Ա» (Ashot I). Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia. vol. i. Yerevan: Armenian SSR: Armenian Academy of Sciences, 1974, pp. 486-487.
- ^ ISBN 1598849484
- ^ Armenian the Survival of a Nation, Christopher Walker pg 267-268
- ISBN 0-8014-8677-7.
- ^ Bauer-Manndorff, Elisabeth (1981). Armenia: Past and Present. New York: Armenian Prelacy, p. 178.
- ^ Yalanuzyan, Mikael (31 August 2021). "Exile to Siberia". EVN Report. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
- ISBN 9789639241688.
- ^ "Communists Mark Referendum Anniversary". The Ukrainian Weekly. March 22, 1998. Archived from the original on November 16, 2005. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
- ^ "WikiLeaks: Georgia Offended Armenian Government Leaders During August War With Russia". MassisPost. 30 November 2010. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
External links
- Historic Concern: Georgian Armenians say authorities out to rid country of Armenian traces
- Georgia is becoming hostage to Azeri-Turkish alliance: interview with Pavel Chobanyan by Pavel Chobanyan – expert of the Caucasus analytical center, doctor of historical sciences
- (in Italian) gli amici dei nemici[Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso, 20 gennaio 2011