Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey agree to hold joint military exercises

The Azerbaijani city of Nakhichevan hosts a trilateral meeting of Defence Ministers of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. Following the negotiations, the heads of the Ministries of Defence (MoDs) decided to hold the meetings on the regular basis every six months. The results of the negotiations included agreements on joint military manoeuvres, including those in the sphere of protection of oil and gas pipelines.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports that the meeting of Zakir Gasanov, Irakly Alasaniya and Ismet Yilmaz the Defence Ministers of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, respectively, has been held at the headquarters of the separate combined-arms army deployed in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (NAR).

During the meeting, the sides have exchanged views on military-political situation and security in the region. The Ministers have also discussed the issues related to cooperation in the military sphere, the press service of the Azerbaijani MoD reports.

According to Zakir Gasanov, the sides have noted the "utility of the trilateral development of relations between the friendly neighbouring countries."

It should be noted that Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey are implementing a number of joint energy transport projects. In particular, they operate the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline, which is to be expanded due to the development of the Caspian oil field "Shakh Deniz-2". The Baku-Supsa gas pipeline is being also operated.