Aliyev’s Tbilisi Trip Puts Spotlight On Georgia’s Behind-The-Scenes Power

Azerbaijan’s president made a brief visit to Tbilisi this week that drew attention less for state-to-state diplomacy than for a short encounter with Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire often seen as Georgia’s informal decision-maker. The timing sharpened scrutiny: one day earlier Georgian authorities deported Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Sadygov, who was returned to Baku, briefly held and questioned before being freed. Human rights lawyers said the removal looked linked to efforts to smooth relations with Baku.

Ivanishvili, who does not hold a government office but is widely credited with founding and financing the ruling Georgian Dream party, met Aliyev at a luncheon. Party materials said Ivanishvili urged deeper economic cooperation and highlighted the transit corridor’s untapped potential — an appeal to make Georgia central, rather than peripheral, to regional shipping and trade projects.

The president and prime minister held their own talks earlier in the day, but images and social posts quickly portrayed Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze as sidelined once Ivanishvili entered the room. Supporters of the governing party dismissed that reading, with senior MPs arguing a brief clip can’t reveal who calls the shots and insisting Ivanishvili’s role hasn’t changed. Official statements from both capitals made no public reference to Sadygov’s deportation; instead the leaders issued familiar reassurances about mutual respect for sovereignty and the value of cooperative economic ties.

Tbilisi’s concerns have a wider strategic context. Over the past year Georgia has watched other initiatives to link Central Asia and Europe gain momentum, including a U.S.-backed route that would largely bypass Georgian territory. Washington’s recent regional engagements — notably trips that included stops in Yerevan and Baku but not Tbilisi — and coverage in Azerbaijani state media alleging Tbilisi obstructs trade have compounded worries that Georgia could lose transit business. Analysts warn that even a modest diversion of cargo could shave off a meaningful slice of transit revenue and put pressure on Georgian ports.

Observers say the substance of any private discussions between Aliyev and Ivanishvili remains opaque. The Azerbaijani presidency’s brief account merely noted a luncheon hosted in Aliyev’s honor by Ivanishvili. That lack of detail has reinforced criticisms about closed-door diplomacy in a country where unelected influence is a persistent public concern and where civil-society groups question whether economic priorities are trumping human-rights obligations.

The episode is likely to intensify debate inside Georgia over who sets foreign-policy priorities and how those choices affect ordinary citizens. Legal advocates and opposition figures say the chain of events — deportation, high-level meetings and muted public records — raises hard questions about accountability. International partners watching the Middle Corridor’s future will be looking for clearer signals about whether Georgia can protect both its economic interests and the rights of people within its borders.