Eurasianism and the Concept of Central Caucaso-Asia

Rethinking Central Eurasia 49
Azerbaijan’s transport potential largely depends on other countries in the
region, namely, Georgia and Armenia. Georgia’s main comparative
advantage is its geographic location on the restored Great Silk Road – the
central corridor joining Europe and Asia. 151 This also determines the
international economic function of this Central Caucasian country. 152
Georgia has the potential to become a major transport link between Russia
and Armenia, and on to Iran. Armenia is also characterized by its potential
transport function both in the West-East (Turkey-Armenia-Azerbaijan) and
the North-South directions (Russia-Georgia-Armenia-Iran). 153 The West-
South (Georgia-Armenia-Iran) transportation corridor that links the Black
Sea with the Persian Gulf is particularly important for Armenia, just as it is
for Georgia. 154 The question is to what extent do the international relations of
the Central Caucasian countries promote the use of their comparative
advantages? 155
The problem of oil and gas in contemporary world economics and politics is
so significant that it also largely determines the attitude of many states
toward the Central Caucasus. So, it is not surprising that Azerbaijan’s
hydrocarbon resources and their transportation routes, routes of immense
geostrategic importance, 156 have generated from the very beginning positive
151 Eduard Shevardnadze, Great Silk Route. TRACECA-PETrA. Transport Corridor
Europe-Caucasus-Asia. The Eurasian Common Market. Political and Economic Aspects
(Tbilisi: Georgian Transport System, 1999).
152 Vladimer Papava, “On the Special Features of Georgia’s International Economic
Function,” Central Asia and the Caucasus, No. 2 (14) (2002), pp. 143-147.
153 For example, Alexander Mukhin, Vladimir Mesamed, “The North-South
International Transportation Corridor: Problems and Prospects,” Central Asia and the
Caucasus, No. 1 (25) (2004), pp. 123-126.
154 In Armenia’s official circles this corridor is considered part of the North-South
corridor (ARKA, “Yerevan-Batumi Transport Corridor may be Commissioned in Two
Years,” ARKA News Agency, October 6, 2008, ), although from the geographic viewpoint it would be much
more accurate to classify it as West-South.
155 For example, Rozeta Asatiani, “Issues of Economic Development of the Caucasus,”
Caucasica. The Journal of Caucasian Studies, Vol. 1, 1998, pp. 34-42; Vladimer Papava,
“Comparative Advantages of the Central Caucasian Countries: Potential, Realized,
and Missed Opportunities,” The Caucasus & Globalization, Vol. 1 (1), 2006, pp. 87-96.
156 For example, Svante E. Cornell, Mamuka Tsereteli, Vladimir Socor, “Geostrategic
Implications of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline,” in S. Frederick Starr and Svante E.
Cornell, eds., The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline: Oil Window to the West (Washington:
Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, 2005), pp. 17-38.