Azernews.Az

By Jamila Babayeva

The frozen conflicts in Azerbaijan and Georgia seriously hinder regional developments.

The remarks were made by Defense Minister Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov at a meeting with Georgia's Deputy Defense Minister Mikheil Darchiashvili on March 28.

He said the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan is the main threat to regional stability, stressing the importance of its resolution under the rules and norms of international law and the UN Security Council resolutions.

Hasanov further noted that Azerbaijan-Georgia relations have a strategic character, and both countries have common positions in international organizations.

He believes that the relationships between the two countries will continue to grow.

Darchiashvili, in turn, said the relations between the two countries have a strong historical base, noting that cooperation between Georgia and Azerbaijan's defense ministries serves their common interests.

Afterwards, the sides exchanged views on topical issues of bilateral relations in the defense sector.

Georgian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Teimuraz Sharashenidze also attended the meeting.

Azerbaijan and Georgia suffer from unresolved conflicts.

Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor that caused a brutal war in the early 1990s.

The UN Security Council's four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal have not been enforced to this day.

Georgia and Russia, its giant northern neighbor, have maintained no diplomatic relations since a brief war in 2008. Tbilisi broke off relations with Moscow in August 2008 when Moscow crushed a Georgian assault to reassert control over two rebel regions -South Ossetia and Abkhazia- and later recognized the regions. Georgia announced the two unrecognized republics as occupied territories in September 2008.