09:00 – 09:45 REGISTRATION

09:45 – 10:00  OFFICIAL WELCOME

  • Ekaterine Metreveli, President, Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies
  • Laura Thornton. Senior Vice President of Democracy, The German Marshall Fund of the United States
  • Marcel Röthig, Director, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung South Caucasus

10:00-10:15 KEYNOTE ADDRESS:  H.E. Ms. Kelly C. Degnan, US Ambassador to Georgia

10:15 – 11:30 SESSION 1: RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR AND THE WORLD: WHERE DO WE STAND NOW AND WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT?

What are the global and regional political outcomes of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine one year after? Under what conditions can the war end and sustainable peace be reached? What are the prospects for implementing President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Peace Formula? What more can the West do to help Ukraine?

Moderator: Alex Petriashvili, Senior Fellow, GFSIS

11:30 – 12:00 COFFEE BREAK

12:00 – 13:15 SESSION 2. RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: HOW FAR TO UKRAINIAN VICTORY?

What can amount to a Russian defeat and Ukrainian victory in the war? What are the plausible scenarios of further military escalation or de-escalation? How have the strategies of the US, NATO and the EU toward revisionist Russia and its war against Ukraine evolved over the year and what should the West do next? 

Moderator:Shota Utiashvili, Senior Fellow, GFSIS

13:15 – 14:15 LUNCH

14: 15 – 15:45 SESSION 3. FUTURE OF RUSSIA: WHAT COULD BE THE COSTS OF PUTIN’S MAJOR STRATEGIC BLUNDER?

What is the future of Putin’s regime and its imperial project to restore dominance over the post-Soviet space and Eastern Europe? What are the implications of Russia’s failure to subjugate Ukraine for Georgia, Moldova and other countries of the South Caucasus and Central Asia? What could be the new modus of relations between Russia and the West?

Moderator: Edit Zgut-Przybylska, IFIS PAN (Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at the Polish Academy of Sciences), Warsaw, Poland

  • Ian Bond, Director of Foreign Policy, Centre for European Reform (online)
  • Nicolas Tenzer, Co-founder and honorary chairman of Initiative for the Development of French Expertise Abroad in Europe and Worldwide, former adviser to the French Minister of Economy and Finance
  • Arkady Moshes, Program Director of Russia, EU’s Eastern Neighborhood and Eurasia Research Program, the Finnish Institute of International Affairs
  • Andreas Umland, Research Fellow, Swedish Institute of International Affairs

15:45 – 16:15 COFFEE BREAK

16:15 – 17:45 SESSION 4A (BREAKOUT SESSION). NEW LANDSCAPE IN THE SOUTH CAUCASUS: HOPE OR DISILLUSIONMENT?

[Iveria Ballroom]

Under what terms can a peace deal between Azerbaijan and Armenia be reached? What are the roles of the US, the EU, Russia, and Turkey in peace negotiations? Are Russian peacekeeping forces a source of stability or just a tool of Russian military presence in the region? Can more Western and less Russian involvement help find a solution to the conflict acceptable to both sides? Has Armenia embarked on a multi-vector foreign policy?

Moderator: H.E. Ms. Kirsti Narinen, Finland’s Roving Ambassador for the South Caucasus

16:15 – 17:45  SESSION 4B (BREAKOUT SESSION). CENTRAL ASIA: A NEW GREAT GAME?

[Surface room]

Has the Russia-Ukraine War diminished Russian influence in Central Asia and created a power vacuum for China to step in? Are the Central Asian countries reconsidering their alliances with Russia? What are the latest trends of conflict and cooperation among the Central Asian countries?

Moderator: Tornike Turmanidze, Senior Fellow, GFSIS

  • Gavin Helf,Senior Expert on Central Asia, the US Institute of Peace
  • Temur Umarov, Fellow, the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center
  • Zuhra Halimova, Senior Analyst, the Digital Ecosystem Country Assessment (DECA), the USAID US Support for Economic Growth in Asia (US-SEGA) project
  • Emil Dzhuraev, Political Scientist and Commentator, Crossroads Central Asia
  • Kamila Smagulova Researcher, PaperLab Public Policy Researcher Center

19:00 – 20:45 DINNER BY INVITATIONS ONLY

21:00 – 22:00 NIGHT OWL SESSION. GERMAN FOREIGN POLICY AMID THE GLOBAL ZEITENWENDE

[Surface room at Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel]

How has Germany’s national security strategy and foreign policy transformed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine? What is Germany’s role in maintaining European Security and the rules-based international order? What are the implications of the Russia-Ukraine War and the global Zeitenwende for Germany’s relations with the US, other EU nations, Russia and China?

Moderator: Lisa Gürth,Desk Officer for Belarus, Russian Federation, and South Caucasus, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung

  • Stefan Meister, Head of the Center for Order and Governance in Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia, German Council on Foreign Relations
  • Sarah Pagung, Program Director for International Affairs at Körber-Stiftung
  • Fritz Felgentreu, Former Member of the German Bundestag and Spokesperson for Security and Defense of the Social Democratic Fraction

09:00 – 09:30 REGISTRATION

09:30 – 11:00 SESSION 5. GLOBAL GREAT POWER COMPETITION: WILL THE WORLD ORDER CHANGE?

Has the Russia-Ukraine War shifted the global balance of power or regional balances of power in Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific? Has the China-Russia alliance against the West solidified or dissolved? Is the US-China rivalry intensifying? Is Japan revising its national security policy? Has Iran become a greater threat to regional and global security?

Moderator: Giorgi Badridze, Senior Fellow, GFSIS

  • Hiroyuki Akita, Commentator on Foreign Affairs and International Security issues, Nikkei
  • Klaus Larres, Richard M. Krasno Distinguished Professor of History and International Affairs, the University of North Carolina (UNC) and Visiting Scholar, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
  • Reid Standish, RFE/RL Correspondent, author of the China in Eurasia Briefing
  • Alex Vatanka, Director of Iran Program and Senior Fellow, The Middle East Institute, US

11:00 – 11:30 COFFEE BREAK

11:30 – 13:00 SESSION 6. SECURITY IN THE BLACK SEA REGION: WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR ON THE REGIONAL BALANCE OF POWER?

Has the Russia-Ukraine War changed the regional balance of power in the Black Sea region? How have the strategies of NATO and the EU towards the Black Sea region evolved since the start of the Russia-Ukraine War? What is Turkey’s role in the Black Sea regional security? Does Turkey represent NATO and the West in this region or is it a purely self-centered actor?

Moderator: Marcel Röthig, Director, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung South Caucasus

  • Amanda Paul, Senior Policy Analyst, European Policy Center
  • Dimitar Bechev, Visiting Scholar at Carnegie Europe, Lecturer at the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies, Oxford University
  • Lieutenant General (r) Florian Coldea, Senior Lecturer, the “Mihai Viteazul” National Intelligence Academy, former Deputy Director of the Romanian Intelligence Service
  • Giray Sadik, Professor and Chair, Department of International Relations, Faculty of Political Science, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University
  • Hanna Shelest, Security Studies Program Director, Ukrainian Prism

13:00 – 14:00 LUNCH

14: 00 – 15:15 SESSION 7. NEXT WAVE OF NATO AND EU ENLARGEMENT: HOW SOON?

Will the Russian invasion of Ukraine result in the further expansion of NATO – beyond Finland and Sweden? Following the failure to obtain the EU candidate status, what is the current state of Georgia’s European course? Is the Associated Trio of Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova still intact?

Moderator: Rikard Jozwiak, Europe Editor, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

15:15 – 15:45 – COFFEE BREAK

15:45 -17:00 SESSION 8A (BREAKOUT SESSION). NEW LIFE FOR THE EAST-WEST ENERGY CORRIDOR: HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR EUROPEAN ENERGY SECURITY?

[Iveria Ballroom]

How have the Russia-Ukraine War and Western sanctions against Russia affected the European Energy security and the East-West energy links? Has Europe’s attempt to end its dependence on Russian hydrocarbons increased the significance of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan as energy exporters, and boosted Georgia’s energy transit potential?

Moderator: Giorgi Isakadze, Editor and TV Host, BMG

  • John M. Roberts, Energy Security Specialist, Methinks Ltd.
  • Jiayi Zhou, Researcher, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
  • Giorgi Abramishvili, Executive Director, Georgian Renewable Energy Development Association

15:45 -17:00 SESSION 8B (BREAKOUT SESSION): CONNECTIVITY IN THE SOUTH CAUCASUS: A NEW CHAPTER?

[Surface room]

Has the increased importance of the Middle Corridor amid the Russia-Ukraine War boosted connectivity among the South Caucasian countries? What are the prospects for opening up transport communications between Armenia and Azerbaijan? Can the sides restore economic ties before the status of Nagorno-Karabakh is resolved? 

Moderator: Eka Akobia, International Relations Expert, Dean, Caucasus University

17:00 – 18:15 SESSION 9. RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION AND PROPAGANDA: HOW ARE UKRAINE, GEORGIA, AND THE WEST RESPONDING?

How is Russia employing disinformation and propaganda in its hybrid war against Ukraine? What are the successes and limitations of Russian propaganda in the West and the post-Soviet space, including Ukraine and Georgia? What are the US, the EU, Ukraine and Georgia doing to counter Russian disinformation?

Moderator: Brian Whitmore, Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, author of The Power Vertical Blog and host of The Power Vertical Podcast

  • Laura Thornton. Senior Vice President of Democracy, The German Marshall Fund of the United States
  • Anton Shekhovtsov, Director of the Centre for Democratic Integrity
  • Eto Buziashvili, Research Associate, Atlantic Council DFRLab
  • Silvia Stober, Editor, news program Tagesschau, German public broadcaster ARD

20:00 – 22:00 DINNER BY INVITATIONS ONLY