In Davos, Leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan Discuss Direct Trade Routes Bypassing Georgia

2026-01-25 - 21:07

Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders have expressed hopes that trade between the two countries will no longer require transit through Georgian territory as their relations improve, amid some fears in Tbilisi about the future of Georgia’s role in the region. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where Georgian officials were again absent after receiving no invitation for the second year in a row, Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev spoke at a January 20 panel discussion, alongside their Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vučić and Turkish representative Ebru Özdemir, chair of Limak Holding. “I am sure we will be able, one day, to receive this cargo directly through our own territories,” Armenian President Khachaturyan said, adding that he is sure the two countries can have “direct transportation” between Baku and Armenia, as well as from Nakhchivan to Armenia. “We will overcome the problems that we created in the 1990s,” he said. “What is very important is that we are both looking forward.” Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that Baku has begun economic cooperation with Yerevan after peace was established “de facto,” noting that Azerbaijan lifted “all restrictions on the transportation of cargo to Armenia from Kazakhstan and from Russia, and now we have a request from the Armenian side to provide transit from Armenia to Russia.” “So we de facto unilaterally opened the corridors,” he continued. “Yes, transportation goes through Georgia, but one day it will go through Armenia. One day, Armenia [Armenian cargo] will go directly through Azerbaijan, and that day is not too far away.” The remarks from the two leaders came amid improving relations following a U.S.-brokered peace agreement signed last August and the development of the proposed Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), a transport corridor linking Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave via southern Armenia. Georgia’s opposition Lelo party warned that the country is “losing its position as a transit country and as a reliable partner to the West.” In a January 21 statement, the party said that as Azerbaijan and Armenia develop new transit routes with Western backing, Georgia is “not only failing to acquire any new role but is also losing the opportunities it currently holds.” Ruling party officials dismissed the concern. Georgian Dream MP Irakli Kadagishvili said, “Georgia is not losing any role. The peace established in the South Caucasus will allow the region to become a strong center of development.” “Look for the positive in peace, not in war,” he told journalists on January 22. Note: This news article was updated on January 22 at 16:00 to include Irakli Kadagishvili’s comment. Also Read: 13/01/2026 – Economy Ministry Officials Meet with USTDA Regional Head to Discuss Middle Corridor Prospects 18/12/2025 – Azerbaijan Sends First-in-Decades Fuel Shipment to Armenia by Train via Georgia 08/12/2025 – Azerbaijani Media Accuse Georgia of Border Delays, Tariff Pressure 09/08/2025 – Georgia Reacts to U.S.-Brokered Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Deal