President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by Defense Minister of Georgia Levan Izoria.

Levan Izoria described the fact that he is paying his first official visit to Azerbaijan is the manifestation of close relations between the two countries. He paid tribute to national leader Heydar Aliyev who played an important role in the development of Azerbaijan-Georgia bilateral cooperation.

Saying Georgia will continue supporting Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, Levan Izoria thanked the Azerbaijani government for backing Georgia’s territorial integrity. The Georgian Defense Minister hailed the importance of a peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, saying the dispute must be resolved on the basis of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Levan Izoria expressed his confidence that the strategic partnership relations between the two countries will further develop.

President Ilham Aliyev said the Georgian Defense Minister’s paying his first official visit to Azerbaijan is a good sign of bilateral relations between the two countries, and praised the successful development of strategic friendly ties in a variety of fields, including security.

President Ilham Aliyev highlighted Azerbaijan’s constant support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Pointing to Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the head of state noted that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs have repeatedly declared the unacceptability of the status quo and the need for changing it. He said that this should form the basis for the conflict settlement.

President Ilham Aliyev expressed his hope that cooperation between the two countries’ defense ministries will successfully continue.

Baku, December 16, AZERTAC