Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan, Georgia Discuss Bilateral Partnership, Regional Cooperation

Baku / 24.09.20 / Turan: The Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Georgia, Jeyhun Bayramov and David Zalkaliani, during today's meeting in Tbilisi, noted with satisfaction the developing strategic partnership between the two countries.

High relations between Azerbaijan and Georgia, including at the level of the heads of state, are clearly manifested not only in words, but also in deeds, the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said.

It was noted that the mutual visits make a positive contribution to the further strengthening of relations between the two countries.

Zalkaliani stressed that Tbilisi highly appreciates the statements of President Ilham Aliyev in interviews with local media regarding the prospects for relations with Georgia.

The parties exchanged views on cooperation in many areas of the bilateral agenda, including political, economic, trade, energy, transport, tourism, humanitarian and other areas. The prospects for full commissioning and further expansion of the Southern Gas Corridor were discussed. It was also noted that the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Supsa oil pipelines, the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline, as well as the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway are beneficial not only to the two countries, but also contribute to the socio-economic development of the region. The ministers noted the great potential for the further development of trade and economic relations and the importance of its full use.

At the meeting, it was noted that both states face similar security threats and show a similar approach to combating them. The need to comply with the norms and principles of international law, in particular the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of internationally recognized borders, was emphasized.

In addition to developing cooperation, Azerbaijan and Georgia successfully interact and support each other in multilateral formats.

Bayramov pointed out that unresolved conflicts pose a serious threat to the security of the region.

He informed his Georgian counterpart about the recent military provocations committed by the Armenian armed forces on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border. They stressed the importance of the settlement of the conflict on the basis of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders.

The ministers also stated that during the pandemic, coordination and cooperation between the two countries continued at a high level and an unhindered traffic flow in both directions was ensured.

The parties also exchanged views on other issues of mutual interest. — 06D-