“Azerbaijan has never used energy as a weapon against Georgia. Instead, we created a mutually beneficial partnership,” MP Nikoloz Samkharadze, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Georgian Parliament, stated during a panel discussion in the United States, as part of the Alliance of Sovereign Nations Conference.

Nikoloz Samkharadze also discussed Georgia’s hydro resources, highlighting the country’s ten-year plan to expand electricity generation.

“We were among the first victims of energy being used as a political tool — and that was back in the nineties, when we had our conflict with the Russian Federation. Russia used energy as a weapon against us, essentially blocking energy deliveries to Georgia.

But luckily, we have a great neighbour, Azerbaijan. Back in the nineties, the Georgian and Azerbaijani presidents decided to join forces, because Azerbaijan was a country that had begun to explore oil in the Caspian Sea and also needed to export that oil via alternative routes, rather than through Russia.

So we joined hands, we joined forces, and over the last 30 years, we have seen exemplary cooperation between Georgia and Azerbaijan. We would not say that we are dependent on Azerbaijan, because Azerbaijan has never used energy as a weapon against Georgia. Instead, we created a mutually beneficial partnership.

Starting from the Caspian Sea, there is the oil pipeline, the gas pipeline, both of which run through to Türkiye, and a third pipeline running from Azerbaijan, through Georgia, to the Black Sea coast.

We believe there are many areas in which we can develop further. You asked about energy independence — we have a ten-year plan to increase electricity generation in Georgia. We are very rich in hydro resources, and over the next ten years we are going to build three major hydropower stations in Georgia, which will triple the country’s electricity generation. We are also working on a very important project together with our Romanian friends, our Hungarian friends, and our Azerbaijani friends,” Nikoloz Samkharadze has concluded.