A forum on neutrality featuring critics of the West and Russia-aligned experts is underway in Tbilisi. The two-day event opened today, November 5, Netgazeti reports.
The forum is co-organized by Vato Shakarashvili’s political movement United Neutral Georgia and the international platform Neutrality Studies, which focuses on analyzing state neutrality, non-alignment policies, diplomacy, and multipolar international relations.
The forum’s description outlines it as a “practice-oriented research conference on the prospects, risks, and opportunities of neutrality in the South Caucasus, featuring international researchers and geopolitical analysts.”
Fourteen speakers are scheduled to address the event, including Pascal Lottaz, head of Neutrality Studies. He consistently advocates for neutral status for Georgia and Ukraine, advancing positions that frequently align with Moscow’s strategic interests.
According to Netgazeti, in an article dated October 13, 2026, titled “Georgian Neutrality: A Chance for Russia and Ukraine,” Lottaz argues that a neutral Georgia outside NATO and EU security frameworks would foster regional stability and satisfy Russia’s declared security demands.
“What we are witnessing in Europe comes down to this: members of the bloc declare that Russia must be defeated. Those who do not align with this policy are treated as opponents. Consequently, countries are being forced to abandon neutrality. Under these circumstances, it is entirely expected that interested parties will begin labeling neutral states as ‘pro-Russian,'” Pascal Lottaz stressed during his speech at the forum.
Other foreign participants at the conference include Mohammad Marandi, a professor at the University of Tehran, who regularly denounces U.S. foreign policy as imperialist and coercive while rejecting Western assessments of Tehran’s actions.
The Georgian contingent among the speakers includes Petre Mamradze, Levan Nikolaishvili, Konstantine Zhghenti, and Lasha Kasradze.
Lasha Kasradze, a political analyst and international affairs expert on the Imedi television channel and formerly a host there, argued during the panel that Georgia’s neutrality must be institutionalized.
“Neutrality undoubtedly entails cultivating public demand for Georgia’s foreign policy course to become substantially more pragmatic. Step by step, the concept of neutrality must acquire an institutional foundation,” Kasradze stated.
Vato Shakarashvili also addressed the attendees, emphasizing that within the current global balance of power, neutrality represents the most realistic and advantageous path for the country’s development.
“The notion that NATO and the European Union guarantee Georgia’s security and progress is an absolute illusion and a relic of the past. Today, Euro-Atlantic integration has turned not into a security shield, but into a grave source of threats to our state,” Shakarashvili concluded.