Azerbaijan ready for trilateral consultations in Baku-Tbilisi-Yerevan format - Aliyev
BAKU/TBILISI. Oct 24 (Interfax) - Azerbaijan stands ready for trilateral consultations in the Baku-Tbilisi-Yerevan format, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said.
"I've exchanged opinions [with the Georgian prime minister] today regarding consultations among Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia. If Armenia agrees, we're also prepared for this," Aliyev said in a statement for the media with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili in Tbilisi on Monday.
Azerbaijan's strategic relations with Georgia have reached the level of allied relations, he said.
"We can say that our strategic relations have reached an allied level, as we are closely cooperating in multiple areas. At the same time, our bilateral cooperation format is important not only to our countries but also to the region as a whole and to all of Europe," Aliyev said.
Trade between Georgia and Azerbaijan exceeded $1 billion from January-September 2022, and Azerbaijani investments in the Georgian economy exceed $3 billion, Aliyev said.
"Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and I have talked about prospects for our economic cooperation. We are looking forward to the start of new economic projects," he said.
Azerbaijan intends to increase natural gas supply to Europe, Aliyev said.
"We have signed a memorandum with the European Commission on doubling our gas supplies to Europe within the next five years. We can bring our supplies to nearly 20 billion cubic meters," Aliyev said, adding that gas supplies would be increased using gas pipelines running via Georgia.
Azerbaijan has major plans to export electricity, which also implies cooperation with Georgia, he said.
Georgian Prime Minister Garibashvili said he and Aliyev discussed the situation in the region and the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
"The Georgian government and I have been doing everything possible for a peace policy. Friendly relations in the region do not run counter to any forms of cooperation. This would only bolster them, and I am sure we can do a lot together," Garibashvili said.
Tbilisi supports the Azerbaijani president's initiative on starting trilateral cooperation among the South Caucasus countries, which was proposed in Prague on October 6.
As reported earlier, speaking at a roundtable conference in Prague on October 6 which dealt with peace and security on the European continent as part of the European Political Community summit, Aliyev highlighted the importance of setting up a common Azerbaijani-Georgian-Armenian platform to promote peace and stability in the South Caucasus. He suggested that this platform could also be used to discuss energy, communications, and other issues of mutual interest.