Defense ministers of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey held third trilateral meeting in Istanbul on December 17.

“Our key message to Europe, NATO, our neighboring countries is simple – in order to have stable Europe with energy security, diversified energy resources, it is necessary to have stable, safe, peaceful Black Sea and Caucasus region,” Georgian Defense Minister, Tina Khidasheli, said after meeting with her Turkish and Azerbaijani counterparts, İsmet Yılmaz and Zakir Hasanov, respectively.

She said that this format of trilateral cooperation is “very successful” and “important both in practical terms – be it in airspace monitoring or trainings, and political support.” 

The Turkish Defense Minister said that cooperation between the three states can be an “example” for others, Anadolu news agency reported.
 
İsmet Yılmaz also said that deepening of the cooperation between the three countries contributes to regional peace and stability.
 
The first meeting of defense ministers in the trilateral format was held in August, 2014 in Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan, where it was agreed to hold such meetings on a regular basis twice a year. The next meeting will be held in Baku.

Foreign ministers of the three countries also have the trilateral format of meetings, which was launched in 2012.