Baku, Ankara and Tbilisi committed to strengthen defense capability
By Sara Rajabova
Following the trilateral meeting of Azerbaijani, Turkish and Georgian defense ministers, Tbilisi announced that the three countries are interested in working out a plan to strengthen the defense capability.
Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Alasania made the remark in his interview with Georgia's Imedi TV channel on August 22.
"The representatives of the governments of these three countries start to think about working out a plan to strengthen the defense capability," Alasania said, adding that this is in the interests of Europe and NATO.
"Because, this transit route [Baku-Tbilisi-Kars] is used to transport the alliance's cargo to Afghanistan," he said.
Alasania also noted that these actions are not directed against anyone.
The minister further said Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey implement joint projects of strategic importance.
The defense ministers of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia met in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (NAR) on August 19 and discussed the military-political situation in the region.
Zakir Hasanov, Ismet Yilmaz and Irakli Alasania also reached an agreement to hold joint military exercises in the future to increase the combat capability of the armed forces of three countries.
An agreement was reached during the meeting to hold meetings in this format twice a year, to organize joint workshops and conferences, to create a trilateral format in military education and cooperation in the military-technical sphere.
The experts' meetings are planned to be organized to examine the promising areas of cooperation.