Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey to hold joint military exercises

Georgia’s military is set to team up with military units of two neighbouring countries and learn how to work together to increase the combat capability of the regional armed forces.

Azerbaijani Defence Minister Zakir Hasanov announced Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey will hold joint military exercises after a trilateral meeting attended by Defence Ministers of the three countries.

Hasanov said the goal of the exercise was to increase the combat capability of the regional armed forces.

The trilateral meeting, held in Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan, saw the Georgian, Turkish and Azerbaijani Defence Ministers exchange views on the current military-political situation and security issues in the region.

The parties also discussed a number of issues of mutual interest in terms of military cooperation.

The Defence Ministers also agreed to hold such meetings in this format twice a year, as well as to organise joint seminars and conferences, to establish a tripartite format for military education and cooperation in the military-technical sphere.

The three Defence Ministers - Zakir Hasanov of Azerbaijan, Ismet Yilmaz of Turkey and Irakli Alasania of Georgia – also discussed the possibility of organising expert meeting that would examine promising areas of cooperation.

Earlier yesterday, Georgia’sDefence Minister met his Azerbaijan counterpart and discussed region security cooperation.