Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey sign for regional security

Azeri, Georgian and Turkish defense ministers signed an agreement on joint combat against organized crime, drug and arms trafficking in Trabzon, Turkey Tuesday.

The signing of the agreement is assessed as a new step as part of the efforts of the three nations to enhance regional security in the run-up to the construction of the main export oil and gas pipelines to take Caspian resources to international markets via Turkey.

The signing ceremony was preceded by a meeting of the Presidents of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia in the Zorlu Grant Hotel of Trabzon Monday.

Azeri President Aliyev cautioned in the meeting that conflicts in the South Caucasus, as well as international terrorism and separatism adversely affect security in the region.

"Armenia's aggression against Azerbaijan is a major factor of instability in the region", he indicated, however, pointing out that conflicts should be resolved peacefully in order to ensure regional security.

Underscoring the significance of the document,, the Azeri President said the host countries, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey should be responsible for ensuring the security of the pipelines.

“Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey are a vivid example of regional cooperation”, he noted.

Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer highly apreciated the meeting, saying it had great significance for resolution of regional problems in the Caucasus. The Turkish leader stressed the need for regular meetings of the Presidents in a move to achieve peace and stability in the region. On his part, Georgian President Shevardnadze said he was aware of the trends of separatism, declining to divulge his view in the open meeting. The private meeting of the three Presidents lasted for two hours. Then, Presidents Aliyev and Sezer met in one for two hours instead of an hour planned earlier. Also discussed was the Garabagh conflict, especially with the Turkish President. President Sezer said his country would not cooperate with Armenia as long as the Azeri lands were under occupation.

In an interview with journalists, President Aliyev, commenting on the upcoming meeting of Azeri, Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers in Reykjavik, said it would be held on the initiative of Turkey and Azerbaijan didn't mind it.

Azerbaijan joined all international conventions on prevention of organized crime, drug and arms trafficking and counterfeiting.