Turkey and Azerbaijan declare their support for Georgia
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Friday, December 4
Turkish-Georgian cooperation and regional security were high on the agenda at a recent meeting between Georgia’s Defence Minister Tinatin Khidasheli and the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Brussels, Belgium, during the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s (NATO) Ministerial.
A NATO member since 1952, Turkey was ready to support Georgia in “all formats” to encourage the neighbouring country’s Euro-Atlantic intentions.
“Turkey is Georgia’s ally and partner and we stand by you for Georgia to successfully accomplish its integration into the Euro-Atlantic structures,” the Turkish official stated.
In response, the Georgian Minister thanked Cavusogly for his words and practical support and congratulated him on his appointment as the Foreign Minister of Turkey for a second term on November 24.
Shortly after the meeting, Khidasheli paid an official visit to Azerbaijan, where she met the country’s President and other high-ranking officials.
One of the main topics of discussion was the protection of the strategic energy transportation infrastructure.
“We talked about strategic cooperation, including the safety of oil pipelines. We discussed what additional measures should be taken in order to protect the pipelines. We also talked about energy projects, in which Georgia and Azerbaijan participate jointly.
“We must say once again that the strategic facilities can be put at risk if we consider some of the unpleasant events happening in our region. Accordingly, the partner countries have to make more efforts and measures to avoid threats. We also discussed our traditional issues and relationships that make us closer, and create tremendous opportunities and potential to show our people more efficient, effective and clear results of this cooperation,” Khidasheli said after her meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
