Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey met in Azerbaijani city of Ganja on February 19 what was the third trilateral ministerial since 2012 when the format was launched in Trabzon.

After the meeting the foreign ministers announced about readiness to start preparation for a summit of Azerbaijani, Georgian and Turkish Presidents, expected in May in Tbilisi.

“It was the initiative of the Georgian President to hold first [trilateral] meeting at the level of presidents in Tbilisi in May,” Georgian Foreign Minister, Maia Panjikidze, said.

Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili visited Turkey in January and held talks with the Azerbaijani leadership in Baku on February 12.

Speaking at a joint press conference after the meeting in Ganja, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said that the three countries have “problem-free” relations.

In their joint statement of the trilateral meeting, the foreign ministers stressed on the importance of the “earliest conclusion of construction” of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway, which will link Azerbaijan with Turkey via Georgia.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister, Elmar Mammadyarov, noted importance of earliest conclusion of the railway project in the context of its possible use by NATO forces as a route for reverse transit from Afghanistan.

The foreign ministers agreed to hold next trilateral meeting later this year.

Also on February 19 the three foreign ministers participated in a ceremony of opening Georgian consulate general in Ganja.