Türkiye underscores importance of stability, peace in South Caucasus

ISTANBUL

Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Georgia have underlined the importance of continued efforts to sustain stability and peace in the South Caucasus, pledging to foster projects for strengthening connectivity infrastructure to link Europe and Asia.

They also urged the end of the war between Russia and Ukraine, which has recently caused disruption of the maritime security in the Black Sea.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan hosted Georgia Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili and Azerbaijan Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov on the occasion of the 10th meeting of a trilateral mechanism on June 8 in Istanbul.

The three top diplomats have organized a joint presser following the talks and explained their positions concerning recent developments in the regional developments.

Fidan valued the trilateral mechanism as a platform where the three countries can take important and strategic steps not only for the interests of them but also in the entire South Caucasus and beyond.
“The world is passing through a rare moment where multiple geopolitical disruptions ar happening at the same time. The environment we have created for cooperation in our region at such times is of a real strategic value,” he said.

The cooperation between these three countries is also bolstering projects for connectivity projects, such as the Middle Corridor, which would enable safe energy supply to the world markets, Fidan stated.

He also raised the ongoing talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan as a development to open a new window of opportunity for sustained development and stability in the region, while stressing that the normalization process between Ankara and Yerevan has also brought about concrete results in the past four years.

The three ministers have also exchanged views on the regional conflicts, particularly the war between Russia and Ukraine and the U.S.-Israel and Iran.

“It is essential that the war between Russia and Ukraine ends,” Fidan said, urging that continued conflict has negative impacts on the stability in the Black Sea as seen in the past days, referring to attacks on civilian vessels.

On a question on the recent escalation in the Black Sea, Fidan stressed that Türkiye has long been urging that the prolongation of the war would lead to expansion of the ring of the fire.

“The warring sides, in order to increase their advantages in the battlefield, are using all the means in the war,” Fidan said, recalling that Ankara has long been urging Russia and Ukraine to refrain from spreading the war.

For Ankara, the most important thing is to see the termination of the war and that’s why it is focusing on direct engagement with two warring sides for a breakthrough, the minister stated.