Georgia, Turkey, Azerbaijan envoys vow to strengthen regional stability

The Foreign Ministers of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey have pledged to enhance bilateral and trilateral cooperation among their countries for the common purpose of strengthening stability in the region.

Closer relations would also increase the welfare of the three countries, create a more favourable environment for regional projects and investments, and facilitate people-to-people contacts.

At the fourth trilateral meeting in Kars, Turkey yesterday, the three ministers underlined that this type of meeting was important for the cooperation between Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey and for development of the region as a whole.

In the joint statement signed by Georgia’s Tamar Beruchashvili, Azerbaijan’s Elmar Mammadyarov and Turkey’s Mevlut Cavusoglu noted joint satisfaction with the growing bilateral and trilateral cooperation among their countries. All parties reaffirmed their strong commitment to further enhance cooperation based on the strategic partnership, good neighbourly relations, mutual respect and trust among the three countries.

The ministers underlined the fact that unresolved conflicts in the region continued to undermine peace, stability and economic development and therefore required urgent solutions in compliance with the principle of respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the states within the internationally recognised borders.

"The territorial integrities of the countries are violated in the region and foreign ministers expressed firm position to respect those principles. This is very important in the framework of the three countries’ friendship regarding the current security of the region,” said Beruchashvili.

At the meeting the ministers exchanged views on the recent situation in the region and Beruchashvili once again focused on the Russian Federation's recent actions in Georgia's occupied regions. It was underlined that such developments continued to undermine stability and security in the region.

Meanwhile, the trio acknowledged the importance of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway project that would link Azerbaijan with Turkey via Georgia. The project would contribute to the expansion of trade and economic development in the region. A pilot train is set to test the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad before the end of the year.

Moreover, the officials also emphasized the importance of the "Trilateral Sectoral Cooperation Action Plan for 2013-2015” as an effective tool for political dialogue and implementation of specific trilateral projects.

All three sides expressed satisfaction with the expansion of the scope of the trilateral meetings. They particularly welcomed the first trilateral summit of the Presidents of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey on May 6, 2014, in Tbilisi, as well as the first meeting of Defence Ministers in August 2014, held in Nakhichevan, Azerbaijan.

The next trilateral Foreign Ministers meeting will be held in 2015 in Georgia.