Turkish, Georgian and Azerbaijani top diplomats to meet in Baku

ANKARA

The foreign ministers of Türkiye, Georgia and Azerbaijan will come together at a trilateral meeting on March 15 in Baku to discuss regional issues and cooperation in various areas, the Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman has announced.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Öncü Keçeli informed that the foreign ministers of three countries will hold the ninth trilateral meeting in the Azerbaijani capital, at a press conference he held on March 13.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan arrived in the Azerbaijani capital Baku late Thursday to attend the trilateral meeting.

Fidan and Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili will be hosted by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramov in Baku. The ministers are expected to hold a press conference after the meeting.

Apart from regional and global issues, the three ministers will review joint efforts to link the southern Caucasus countries through various ways, including through railways, roads, pipelines and others.

Türkiye is hoping to increase connectivity between Europe and Central Asia by promoting the middle corridor project. It already has key pipelines carrying Azerbaijani oil and natural gas to the world markets with plans to increase their capacity.

The ministers will also review peace talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia and normalization efforts between Türkiye and Armenia.

Azerbaijan secured its territories in Nagorno Karabakh following the 2020 war with Armenia. The ceasefire still holds, but there are concerns that the conflict can re-start due to the prolongation of the talks.

Türkiye says it will open the borders with Armenia and install diplomatic ties with it right after Baku and Yerevan signs a permanent peace agreement.