Azernews.Az

Georgia is content with Azerbaijan`s support in its conflict with Russia over the rebel region of South Ossetia, Vasili Sikharulidze, the Georgian ambassador to the United States, recently said.
His comments came during a news briefing at Radio Liberty`s office in Washington, adding that Azerbaijan remains his country`s close ally.
"We maintain excellent bilateral relations. We continue working together, and the Azerbaijani government was of great support to us at the time of crisis. And, regardless of what some analysts may have to say about our relations, I would say that Azerbaijan is our very close friend and ally," the Georgian diplomat said.
Observers recall that at the time the South Ossetia conflict flared up, Baku issued a statement essentially close to Tbilisi`s stance, making it clear that it supported the neighboring South Cacuasus republic`s territorial integrity. But, in the ensuing stage of battle, the Azerbaijani president expressed a more neutral attitude by not supporting either the actions of Georgia nor those of Russia, prompting some analysts to argue that Azerbaijan was not giving enough support to Georgia.
Georgia launched large-scale military operations to restore its territorial integrity on August 8 in South Ossetia. Moscow responded by sending troops to the pro-Russian region that struck at Georgian armed forces using overwhelming force. A ceasefire was, subsequently, reached on August 17 to end the brief war, with the mediation of French President Nicolas Sarkozy.