**Georgia’s Transit Hub Function at Risk, Says Mikheil Saakashvili**
In a scathing Facebook post, Georgia’s third president, Mikheil Saakashvili, has accused the country’s current leadership of destroying democracy and isolating it from its main allies. As a result, he claims, Georgia is losing its critical transit hub function.
According to Saakashvili, the recent US-Azerbaijan-Armenia agreement to lease the Zangezur Corridor for 100 years has opened up a new transit route from Europe to China, bypassing Georgia, Iran, and Russia. This development, he argues, will have severe consequences for Georgia’s economy and security.
**A Transit Hub in Jeopardy**
Saakashvili notes that during his presidency, the country enjoyed a strategic location as a transit hub, with tourism and democracy also playing important roles. He credits himself and former president Eduard Shevardnadze with establishing this position, which made Georgia attractive to investors. However, he claims that the current government has dismantled democratic institutions and isolated the country from its main allies.
**Complete Geopolitical Isolation**
The signing of the US-Azerbaijan-Armenia agreement, Saakashvili writes, will lead to complete geopolitical isolation for Georgia, with Iran and Russia being left out. He warns that this will result in a new “Iron Curtain” descending on the Red Bridge, leading the country into an abyss.
**Consequences for Georgians**
Against the backdrop of these developments, the Lazika port project and other Georgian ports lose their meaning, Saakashvili argues. The only perspective left for Georgia is accelerated emigration of its population and deepening poverty.
“It’s ironic,” he writes, “that all this is happening on the anniversary of the August War.”
**Commentary: A Crisis of Leadership**
Saakashvili’s outburst highlights a crisis of leadership in Georgia. His comments suggest that the country’s current government has failed to maintain the strategic relationships and democratic institutions that once made it attractive to investors and allies.
As the transit hub function becomes increasingly irrelevant, the consequences for Georgians will be dire. Accelerated emigration and poverty will become the norm, further eroding the country’s stability and security.
It remains to be seen whether the current government will take steps to address these concerns or continue down a path of isolation and decline.
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