Azernews.Az

Azerbaijan and Georgia are united by a strategic partnership and friendly relations that have continued throughout centuries, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said addressing Azerbaijani parliament in Baku last Wednesday.

``The two countries have similar historical problems. We have always been close to each other. Azerbaijan declared its independence for the first time in Tbilisi [in 1918],`` said Saakashvili, who paid an official visit to Azerbaijan last week.

Saakashvili noted that the strategic partnership between the two countries is vital and ``our alliance is not directed against anyone``.

``Our friendship has evolved over centuries through tears and smiles, hope and confusion. Azerbaijan and Georgia are ancient nations, but very young independent states. They faced and are facing common challenges. And, most importantly, they faced and are facing them together. This is a lesson not only of the ancient times, but also the recent past.``

The Georgian president said Azerbaijan and Georgia are bound not only by a political alliance based on common threats.

``The most ruthless repressions could not break and kill our desire for freedom,`` Saakashvili said, quoting Mammad Amin Rasulzada, the founder of the Azerbaijan People`s Republic, the first-ever democratic Islamic republic in the Orient. He added, speaking Azerbaijani, ``The flag once raised will never fall.``