Azeri, Turkish ministers discuss military cooperation, Karabakh settlement

Turan news agency, Baku
21 Jul 05

Baku, 21 July: Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov today
received Turkish Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul, who is paying a visit
to Azerbaijan.

The meeting exchanged views on bilateral cooperation in the military,
political and economic spheres, the [Azerbaijani] Foreign Ministry
press centre reported. In Mammadyarov’s opinion, bilateral cooperation
is successfully developing both on a bilateral basis and within the
framework of NATO.

Talking about regional issues, Mammadyarov highlighted cooperation
in the security sphere between Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia.

For his part, the Turkish minister recalled that the Turkish government
has provided Azerbaijan with military aid worth 170m dollars. He said
that this support will continue in the future.

The ministers had a wide exchange of opinions on the Karabakh
conflict. Vecdi Gonul said that Turkey has always clearly supported
Azerbaijan’s position on this issue.

The parties also touched on transport and energy projects, the
Baku-Tbilisi-Kars [railway] and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum [gas pipeline].