Mikheil Kavelashvili Visits Turkey

Georgian Dream-elected President Mikheil Kavelashvili made his first official visit to Turkey on August 12-13, meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Numan Kurtulmuş, Speaker of Turkey’s Grand National Assembly.

Kavelashvili was elected as president by the College of Georgian Dream MPs and local councilors on December 14. However, his presidency has not been recognized by key Western countries and Georgia’s international partners, who have raised serious concerns over widespread electoral fraud and irregularities, disputing the fairness of the contested 26 October parliamentary vote.

Since the highly contested election, Kavelashvili’s official foreign travel has been limited to neighboring countries, where he held high-level meetings with government officials.

• 29/04/2025 – Mikheil Kavelashvili Visits Armenia
• 16/04/2025 – Mikheil Kavelashvili Visits Azerbaijan

Meeting with the Turkish President

The Turkish president’s palace hosted an official blue-carpet protocol ceremony for Kavelashvili and the accompanying Georgian Dream delegation, followed by a meeting with Erdoğan and their joint press appearance.

Erdoğan opened his speech by mentioning that Turkey and Georgia are “strategic partners bound by deep historical, cultural, and human ties.”

“We, as two countries, are participants in the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars project, which is the backbone of the Middle Corridor, and we also have strategically important oil and gas pipelines,” he said.

“In our discussions, which are based on these economic, cultural, and historical ties, we once again declare our readiness to deepen our relations,” the Turkish president said. “We will continue to make further progress and develop trade and relations for the benefit of our peoples.”

He said the two countries would seek to lift annual trade volume from about USD 3 billion to USD 5 billion, describing Turkey’s years-long status as Georgia’s largest trading partner as proof that the “relations rest on a solid foundation.”

Citing “thousands of Turkish construction firms operating in Georgia” and “300 major construction projects worth billions” already completed, Erdoğan said investor interest in Georgian infrastructure remains high. He added that defense cooperation “is also of great significance,” without further elaborating.

He also raised the long-sensitive issue of Meskhetian Turks, a Muslim Turkish-speaking community from Georgia’s southern Meskheti region, deported en masse by Soviet authorities in 1944, conveying Kavelashvili that Turkey expects “the dignified and safe return” of the community to their “historic residence” and stands ready to support the process.

“I also conveyed to President Kavelashvili our expectations regarding the dignified and safe return of Meskhetian Turks to their places of residence. This is an important issue for us, and we will provide any necessary support to this process,” Erdoğan said. “I would also like to emphasize that the strategic cooperation between Georgia and Turkey will further develop and strengthen, based on the will of our peoples.”

Erdoğan added that the talks covered Black Sea and Caucasus security, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. He reiterated “firm support for Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty” and said Ankara would continue to use trilateral formats with Georgia and Azerbaijan “in the fields of foreign and security policy” to bolster regional stability.

Note: Erdoğan made his speech in Turkish, with his remarks simultaneously interpreted into Georgian by pro-government Imedi TV.

Kavelashvili’s Speech

Kavelashvili thanked Erdoğan for his “exceptional and warm hospitality”, for supporting Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and backing Tbilisi’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations “in various formats.”

Reiterating the Georgian Dream government’s “commitment to the policy of peaceful resolution of the Russia–Georgia conflict,” he said Tbilisi’s objectives remain “de-occupation of Georgia’s two regions by Russia” and “reconciliation and engagement between the populations divided by the occupation line.”

He “welcomed” the peace deal between Azerbaijan and Armenia “toward achieving lasting peace,” and asserted that Georgia supports “the formula of peaceful coexistence in the South Caucasus,” ready to “contribute to the process of fostering peace and constructive cooperation in the region.”

He said the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey trilateral format “is an excellent example” which demonstrates how states “that respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity can cooperate effectively.”

He also cited that Turkey is “Georgia’s number one trading partner,” noting that he discussed with President Erdoğan the steps that can be taken to “promote the growth of exports from Georgia so that the Free Trade Agreement [with Turkey] can yield equal benefits for both sides.”

“The importance of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, and the Southern Gas Corridor projects were underlined, as they give a new dimension to the role and function of our countries in the global geopolitical arena,” Kavelashvili added.

The ceremonial warmth ended on a lighter note, as Kavelashvili, himself a veteran footballer, extended a personal invitation for Erdoğan to join him in Tbilisi on September 4 for the Georgia–Turkey national football match. “I’m sure it will be a great match,” Kavelashvili concluded his speech.

Bilateral Meeting

According to Kavelashvili, his talks with Erdogan focused on “bilateral and multilateral relations between Georgia and Turkey, as well as prospects for future cooperation.”

He said, “particular attention was given to the development of regional, trade-economic, transport, and energy cooperation, as well as to the significance of transit functions and connectivity.”

Turkish President added that both countries “will continue to work shoulder-to-shoulder for cooperation, peace, and development in our region and beyond.”

According to Kavelashvili, he held “an extended-format meeting” with both delegations, which on the Georgian side included “members of the Georgia-Turkey Parliamentary Friendship Group – Giorgi Chkonia, Mariam Lashkhi and Guram Macharashvili.”

“The parties reviewed the main areas of bilateral cooperation between Georgia and Turkey and emphasized the close, friendly, and partnership-based relations between the two countries,” he wrote on X.

Talks with Speaker of Turkish Grand National Assembly

The GD-elected President also held a meeting with the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Numan Kurtulmuş.

Kavelashvili “reaffirmed Georgia’s interest in holding the next session of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council between the two countries,” and expressed “gratitude to the Turkish side for its support of Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

According to Kurtulmuş, the two “expressed satisfaction with the development of our friendly and neighborly relations,” congratulated Kavelashvili “on his election to the presidency,” and conveyed “best wishes for his success.”

Also Read:

• 10/09/2024 – Georgia Hosts Defense Ministerial Between Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey
• 16/05/2024 – Prime Minister Kobakhidze Visits Turkey

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