MEETING OF AZERBAIJANI AND GEORGIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS HELD IN BAKU

Regnum, Russia
Nov 1 2006

On October 31, Georgian Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili arrived
in Baku on short-term visit. He met with his Azerbaijani colleague
Elmar Mamedyarov and planned to go to Moscow on the same day; a REGNUM
correspondent informs.

After the meeting was over, Minister Elmar Mamedyarov stressed at
briefing that the parties had discussed interstate bilateral ties.

According to him, regional projects in economic sphere were considered
at the meeting. Elmar Mamedyarov and Gela Bezhuashvili agreed to
hold joint sitting of state commission on border delimitation and
demarcation next month in Baku.

Responding to question of journalists, Gela Bezhuashvili stressed
that issue of gas transportation to Georgia via Azerbaijani
territory was not discussed at the meeting. "However, the issue was
discussed at power engineering ministries’ level. Georgia is going
to transport Iranian gas via Azerbaijani territory." Speaking about
role of Azerbaijan in Russian-Georgian relations’ normalization,
Bezhuashvili stated that they do not need intermediary services of
other countries. "We will lead these relations up to necessary level
ourselves. Azerbaijan is natural mediator in the process.

Responding to journalists’ questions at the briefing, Elmar
Mamedyarov expressed his attitude to Nagorno Karabakh settlement on
the basis of Kosovo’s model. "Every conflict has its own history and
peculiarities. It is impossible to settle conflicts on the basis of
the same formula."