Tbilisi means “warm place,” a reference to the sulfur springs that gave the Georgian capital its name. Yet the geopolitics surrounding the city are anything but warm. Nestled between snow-capped mountains and divided by the slow flow of the Kura River, Tbilisi sits at the center of a region where political climates shift as quickly as mountain weather. Inside the city, warmth defines its history and identity, blending tradition and modernity artfully, while its multifaith and multiethnic character is one of the most vibrant in this part of the world. Outside, the South Caucasus remains one of the coldest arenas of geopolitical competition, unpredictable and volatile. Today, as great powers compete for control over Eurasian corridors, energy routes, and strategic infrastructure, Georgia’s capital finds itself once again balancing between warmth at home and the icy calculations of international politics, as it succeeded in doing in the old days, though new realities demand greater weight.
In the emerging geopolitical competition over Eurasian trade routes, small states located along logistical corridors are gaining outsized strategic importance. Few countries illustrate this reality more clearly than Georgia. Long viewed as a peripheral post-Soviet state, Georgia has increasingly become a central node in the contest among the United States, Russia, and China for influence over the infrastructure, energy flows, and transport networks connecting Europe and Asia.
Georgia’s geography explains much of the growing international attention it receives. Located at the intersection of Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia, Georgia serves as a key transit state in the South Caucasus. As a littoral state on the Black Sea, the country possesses approximately 310 kilometers of coastline, stretching from the Turkish border in the south to the Russian-controlled region of Abkhazia in the north. This coastline hosts several strategically important ports, including Poti, Batumi, and the planned deep-sea port of Anaklia, which together form Georgia’s maritime gateway to Europe and global markets.
Georgia also occupies a central position in regional land connectivity. The country shares a 273-kilometer border with Turkey, its most important western neighbor and a NATO member. This border functions as a major logistical bridge linking the Black Sea basin to Mediterranean and European markets through Turkish infrastructure. Georgia’s borders extend further to Azerbaijan (approximately 480 km) in the east, Armenia (about 219 km) in the south, and Russia (around 894 km) to the north, placing the country at the crossroads of major trade routes connecting the Caspian Sea basin to Europe.
Because of this geography, Georgia has become a critical component of the so-called Middle Corridor, the east-west trade route linking China and Central Asia to Europe through Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey. The corridor provides a strategic alternative to both the northern route through Russia and the southern route through Iran. In practical terms, cargo originating in western China or Central Asia crosses the Caspian Sea, enters the South Caucasus through Azerbaijan, traverses Georgian rail and road infrastructure, and reaches Black Sea ports or continues westward through Turkey to European markets.
Several major infrastructure projects reinforce Georgia’s role in this corridor. The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, opened in 2017, directly connects Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey, enabling freight transport from the Caspian region to European rail networks without passing through Russia. Meanwhile, energy pipelines such as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the South Caucasus gas pipeline transport Caspian energy resources through Georgian territory to Turkey and onward to global markets.
Taken together, Georgia’s Black Sea coastline, its borders with both NATO member Turkey and Caspian energy producers, and its expanding transportation infrastructure position the country as one of the most important logistical hubs in the broader Eurasian connectivity landscape. In an era of growing competition over trade routes and supply chains, Georgia’s geographic position has transformed it from a small post-Soviet state into a pivotal transit node linking Europe, the Black Sea, the Caspian basin, and Central Asia.
This strategic role has become even more important following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The war disrupted the northern Eurasian transport corridor passing through Russian territory and accelerated interest in alternative routes. As a result, Western policymakers, investors, and logistics companies have increasingly turned their attention toward the Middle Corridor and, by extension, to Georgia.
At the same time, China has expanded its economic engagement in the region as part of its broader Belt and Road strategy. Chinese firms have shown interest in infrastructure projects across the South Caucasus, including potential participation in the development of Georgia’s Anaklia deep-sea port. Beijing’s growing presence reflects a broader effort to secure influence over transport corridors linking East Asia with European markets.
Russia, meanwhile, retains significant military leverage in the region. Since the 2008 Russo-Georgian war, Moscow has maintained military forces in the Georgian territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. In recent years, Russia has also expanded its naval presence along the eastern Black Sea coast, including plans to develop a naval facility in Abkhazia’s Ochamchire port, just a short distance from Georgia’s planned Anaklia port.
These developments place Georgia at the intersection of competing strategic interests. On one side stand Western efforts to strengthen transport and energy corridors bypassing Russia. On another side is China’s expanding economic footprint across Eurasian infrastructure networks. On a third front, Russia seeks to maintain its military and political influence across the post-Soviet space.
Faced with these pressures, Georgia has adopted a pragmatic strategy of strategic balancing. Although the country remains constitutionally committed to integration with NATO and the European Union, successive governments have also sought to avoid direct confrontation with Russia while preserving economic ties where possible. Critics sometimes interpret this approach as geopolitical drift. In reality, it reflects the difficult choices confronting Georgia as it is located between rival powers. If Georgia succeeds, Georgia will no longer be a post-Soviet or small state, but will instead be recognized as a small but smart state.
For the United States, Georgia’s evolving role in Eurasian connectivity presents both opportunities and risks. If Washington disengages from the region’s infrastructure development, China is likely to expand its presence through investments tied to the Belt and Road Initiative. At the same time, Russia’s military foothold in Abkhazia underscores the continuing security vulnerabilities facing Georgia.
A more proactive U.S. strategy in the South Caucasus should therefore focus on three priorities. First, Washington should support infrastructure projects that strengthen the Middle Corridor, including port development, rail modernization, and digital connectivity across the region. Second, the United States should deepen security cooperation with Georgia in order to deter further Russian military pressure along the Black Sea coast. Third, American policymakers should encourage economic integration between the South Caucasus and European markets, ensuring that regional connectivity projects remain aligned with Western standards and investment frameworks.
Georgia may be a small country, but its geography places it at the heart of a rapidly evolving geopolitical landscape. As global competition increasingly revolves around control over trade routes, logistics networks, and energy corridors, the strategic significance of the South Caucasus, and of Georgia in particular, will only continue to grow.
For Washington, recognizing this reality is the first step toward crafting a more coherent, consistent, and rational strategy for the region, beginning with recognizing Georgia’s rational choices and regional calculations.
By Abdulmelik Alkan
