Georgian President's office has assesses reactions to Salome Zurabishvili's statements on "Caucasus platform" as "groundless agitation".

"The President’s speech at the Ambassadors' Conference 2020 is not and cannot be perceived, as a response to any other initiative [Erdogan's initiative], because the President proposed the Caucasus Peace Platform several times, including at a time when there was a conflict in the region. The president constantly emphasizes the historical role of Georgia in the Caucasus, which has always been the unifying engine role of the Caucasus," the President's office said in a statement on Wednesday.

On December 22 Salome Zurabishvili said at the the Ambassadors' Conference 2020 that the conflict in the Caucasus was a big challenge for the South Caucasus region.

"Once again I want to salute the restoration of peace, which is vital to us and not just our neighbors, for each of us. At the same time we know that everyone was involved in achieving this goal, all the facilitators - everyone expect us. This is very regrettable. The capacity to gather has been the centuries-old historical role of Georgia in the Caucasus, and is still is. That is why I am deeply convinced that Georgia will be neither passive, nor secondary to the initiative of the Caucasus platform. I hope that 2021 will the year of our revival in this regard", Zurabishvili said.

Ben Hodges, former commander of the US Army in Europe as well as Former U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Ian Kelly criticized Salome Zurabishvili.

"This “return of peace” is enforced by Russian troops. And why does the Georgian President want to promote this Caucasus Platform, when it means giving Russia and Iran a voice in your regional affairs?," Ian Kelly said in a tweet.

As for Ben Hodges, he assessed Zurabishvili's statement as "mistake".

"Doesn't GEO President represent sovereignty? Why would GEO embrace a plan that cements Russian occupiers on every border and within its own borders? Why does GEO allow Russian "piece keepers" to fly thru its airspace to Armenia while Russian troops occupy GEO land?," Ben Hodges said in a tweet.