Thread by @onewmphoto

There'll be an article coming on the impact the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict has had on Georgia next week, but regarding the impact on the ethnic Armenian and Azeri communities, some of the points made in various interviews to come over the next few days. 1/5

First up, Arnold Stepanian, Chairperson of the Multinational Georgia public movement. He describes the situation as being more tense between the two communities than at anytime before. He reckons about 12,000 people total from both have engaged in some kind of demonstration. 2/5

But to put that in perspective, Georgia’s ethnic Armenian and Azeri minority communities stand at 168,000 and 284,000 respectively. Stepanian believes that mis/disinformation on social media is playing a more active role in radicalising people than at any time before. 3/5

Stepanian also believes that Georgia's position of neutrality during the Armenia-Azerbaijan fighting is the only one it can take. However, Georgia's policy might change over the long-term depending on future developments. That's unclear at this stage, however. 4/5

For now, though, Stepanian believes that the Georgian government should seek to address this by tackling the various social and economic problems in those areas where both ethnic Armenians and Azeris co-inhabit. It is those issues that are main drivers of potential conflict. 5/5