Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is visiting Georgia on April 6.
He arrived at Tbilisi International Airport in the morning with his wife, Mehriban Aliyeva, and a delegation. Georgian Dream Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili welcomed them at the airport. Aliyev first visited the Heroes Memorial and the Statue of Heydar Aliyev in Tbilisi, laying wreaths at both sites.
The visit comes a day after Georgia detained and deported Afgan Sadygov, a critical Azerbaijani journalist who actively participated in anti-government protests in Tbilisi, back to Azerbaijan, where he is now free but faces “complete uncertainty“ amid fears of a new prosecution.
The visit marks Ilham Aliyev’s first official trip to Tbilisi since October 2023, when he met with then-Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili. A number of Georgian Dream officials, including PM Irakli Kobakhidze and GD-elected President Mikheil Kavelashvili, have on several occasions met with Aliyev both in Baku and at other international venues.
Meeting with Mikheil Kavelashvili
An official welcoming ceremony for the Azerbaijani president was held at 11 a.m. at Tbilisi’s Orbeliani Presidential Palace, where Mikheil Kavelashvili received his Azerbaijani counterpart. The national anthems of both countries were played.
The two then held a one-on-one meeting inside the presidential palace.
During the meeting, they discussed “the high-level strategic partnership between the two countries and their successful cooperation across various sectors,” Georgia’s presidential administration said in a press office, adding that Kavelashvili emphasized Georgia’s priority to “maintain” this partnership.
“It was emphasized that against the backdrop of current geopolitical developments, at a time when the international order is undergoing fundamental changes, maintaining stability and peace in the region is becoming increasingly important,” the press release said.
It added that Kavelashvili thanked Aliyev for supporting Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and for expressing condolences on the passing of late Patriarch Ilia II, and that Aliyev signed the official guest book following the meeting.
The Azerbaijani president’s administration said, among other points in its press release, that the sides emphasized “the significance of the joint transport and energy projects implemented by Azerbaijan and Georgia, noting their strategic and economic importance,” and highlighted “the role of the normalization process between Azerbaijan and Armenia in ensuring stability and security in the South Caucasus.”
More to follow…
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