Iran, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan hold meeting in Baku

By Ruslan Rehimov

BAKU, Azerbaijan 

The Turkish foreign minister Thursday stressed that cooperation between Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Iran would contribute to stability and peace in the region.

Mevlut Cavusoglu was speaking at a news conference following the first-ever quadrilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Iran.

“This mechanism has been established between the countries, with which we [Turkey] have historical and cultural ties. There are important projects that we will realize together with these three countries,” he said.

“We see that today’s meeting, which we held for the first time, will form a route map for the future [...],” Cavudoglu added.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Memmedyarov, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and Georgian Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze attended the meeting.

New transportation projects were also discussed, namely connecting the Rasht-Astara railway to the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars line.

Construction of the Rasht-Astara railway is currently underway and is expected to be completed in three years, according to Azerbaijan's Memmedyarov.

Moreover, construction of a transit corridor to link the Indian Ocean to Europe was also mentioned. Iran’s Chabahar and Bandar Abbas ports are to serve as starting points of said corridor.

The second quadrilateral meeting is to take place in Georgia.