Russian political expert, Chief Editor of the National Strategy Issues journal Adzhar Kurtov is skeptical of the Azeri-Turkish-Georgian plan to form a military alliance.
In an interview to ArmInfo he said that during their last meeting in Nakhichevan the Azeri, Turkish and Georgian DMs reached no specific agreement on this matter. "They just had no authority to do it as such important agreements are usually reached by presidents," Kurtov said.
One more obstacle to such a union, according to him, is the ongoing fight between the Georgian president and prime minister for control over the country's army. "This conflict reflects the general discord in Georgia following the resignation of Bizina Ivanishvili. So, under such conditions we can hardly expect the Georgians to appear with any crucial decisions on security matters," Kurtov said.
As regards Turkey, it is, according to the expert, is a NATO member and so it is not very free in choosing new military allies. "The Georgians cannot be allies for Turkey as they will hardly support it should it decide to fight against Greece or Syria. The South Caucasus is a different story. In fact, Turkey is part of it, and so, it is involved in local politics. It's not a secret that Turkey and Azerbaijan already have mutual military obligations. Why then do they need a new alliance? My only explanation here is that they in Baku just want to show some political activity after their failure to pressure Armenia with border provocations in August," Kurtov said.