TBILISI, June 28 – Georgia is trying to win support to chair the OSCE next year, but analysts quoted by Rezonansi say the bid faces serious obstacles because of the country’s worsening relations with the West.
Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili is attending the Dubrovnik Forum in Croatia, where one of her aims is to seek backing from other OSCE member states for Georgia’s candidacy.
Botchorishvili said before leaving for Croatia that the forum was a good chance to raise issues important to Georgia, including regional cooperation, multivector diplomacy, connectivity and international partnerships.
She said Georgia has formally submitted its candidacy to chair the OSCE next year and must now work with all member states to secure support.
The OSCE chairmanship is not decided by a simple vote. According to Rezonansi, the decision is based on consensus, meaning all 57 member states must agree. One country can block a candidate if it considers it unsuitable.
The chairing country’s foreign minister becomes the OSCE’s chairperson-in-office, giving that country a leading role in setting priorities, representing the organization and responding to crises.
For Georgia, the post would bring prestige and political influence. But the timing is difficult.
Rezonansi noted that Georgia-West relations have sharply deteriorated, while the OSCE has activated the so-called Moscow Mechanism against Georgia. The mechanism is used in rare cases and has added to skepticism about Georgia’s chances.
Analyst Zaal Anjaparidze told Rezonansi that it is hard to assess Georgia’s chances because of the current attitude toward the country inside the OSCE. He pointed to critical resolutions adopted by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the activation of the Moscow Mechanism.
He said Georgia had taken on a difficult task, especially because leading Western countries such as Germany, France and Britain play an important role inside the organization.
Still, Anjaparidze said the attempt was not useless.
“The attempt is not bad,” he said. “At least it will give us knowledge of what this or that country’s attitude toward Georgia is.”
He added that the chairmanship would serve Georgia, not only the ruling Georgian Dream party.
Analyst Vakhtang Dzabiradze said Georgia’s chances depend on the future policy of Georgian Dream.
He said it will matter what conditions Botchorishvili presents and whether the government changes its foreign policy course. If foreign policy is “sorted out,” he said, the process could move normally. If not, he doubted Georgian Dream would manage to secure the chairmanship.
Dzabiradze also said the OSCE’s Moscow Mechanism would work against Georgia’s bid.
“This is why I say a change of policy is necessary,” he told Rezonansi.
