Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia talk ‘stability’

TBILISI

Turkish President Gül speaks during an event in Georgia. AA Photo

Leaders from Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia held a trilateral summit in Tbilisi May 6, underscoring the stability and welfare of the Caucasus.

“The high mountains of the Caucasus are no longer a barrier but a cooperation area,” President Abdullah Gül said, adding that the three countries had contributed to the stability and welfare of the Caucasus.

“Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey implemented a number of regional and international projects. Everybody appreciates the contribution of the three countries in maintaining peace and stability in the region,” Gül said, expressing hope for continuing such meetings at the presidential level, which are an example of cooperation and brotherhood among the three countries in many areas.

Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili echoed Gül, saying, “Our cooperation is very long-standing, intensive, result-oriented and positive for the three countries and the region.”

For his part, Azerbaijani President İlham Aliyev said the trilateral cooperation had “common regional and global purposes.”

“Our cooperation is based on common interests. At the same time, the joint projects that we are realizing have gone beyond the regional boundaries and become global. Therefore, the summit itself is a very significant international event,” Aliyev said. The three countries launched the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars regional rail link project in 2007 which will directly connect the trio, with the construction expected to be completed in mid-2015.

Aliyev also discussed the importance of the Trans-Anatolia Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) project, which will carry Azerbaijani natural gas to Europe, and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which is to carry natural gas from Azerbaijan’s Shahdeniz field.

“The talks we are having have great importance for Europe. This will be our contribution of energy security to the continent,” Aliyev said.