by Georgy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively for VK
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili vitied Azerbaijan and met his counterpart Ilham Aliyev. Agreements reached and Saakashvili’s speech at the Azerbaijani parliament prove intensification of bilateral cooperation.
Saakashvili made statements on Georgian-Azerbaijani relations. “Georgia and Azerbaijan are more than strategic partners. I am here to emphasize the importance of the strategic partnership between our states. In reality, we are more than strategic partners. We have a common tragic and glorious memory of past events and strive together for a peaceful and free future”, Saakashvili said.
Saakashvili called Kurban Sayid’s “Ali and Nino” the most beautiful memorial of Georgian-Azerbaijani friendship. According to the Georgian president, “our republics were like full blood sisters, an example of unprecedented efforts to build modern, democratic states and communities in the Caucasus”.
The sides reached essential agreements in economy, energy and transport. This includes the deal on concluding construction of the Baku – Tbilisi – Akhalkalaki – Kars – Istanbul Railway, formation of a joint company of export of electricity to Turkey and construction of the Rustavi – Sadakhlo Highway connecting the two states. Moreover, the presidents discussed hosting the 2020 UEFA European Football Championship in their countries.
An anonymous source from the Georgian Football Federation told VK that filing a bid to host the championship “requires several important conditions. Including a minimum of 10 high-class stadiums, advanced tourism infrastructure and most importantly – security!”
So far Georgia has only 2 stadiums meeting world standards. One of them is the Central National Stadium named after Boris Paichadze and the Lokomotiv Stadium named after Mikhail Meskhi. Perhaps, Georgia may remind that Dinamo Tbilisi won the Cup and some Georgian players took part in world championships.
But the resources are less significant in comparison with regional influence (including ties with Turkey and Russia) and the financial potential of Azerbaijan, a state capable of hosting games of any level. Minister for Youth and Sports Vladimir Vardzelashvili confirmed that the two states will confirm their bid at the UEFA congress in Istanbul.
Football today is not just big money, it is also a big political sphere. Bidding to host the European Championship is a signal of Georgia and Azerbaijan for all interested sides “to concentrate and think” about further regional policy. It is for the sake of further integration in European structures, capable of offering a clear and definite program to settle the most complicated conflicts. Serbia (a state willing to join the EU), Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia are also bidding to host the games. None of the states would boycott Eurovision just because it is hosted on “hostile territory”. This is why the initiative to host the UEFA European Football Championship is a very decisive step in the big regional game. It is a game where a loser’s tactic is called “self-isolation”. What could be more pure, kind and brighter than football? Football is life! It is an encouragement of peace, rapprochement and cooperation.
