Turkey Pleased With Peaceful Solution Of Tension Between Georgia And Adzharia

ANKARA - Turkey was pleased with peaceful solution of tension between Georgia and Adzharia, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
A statement of the Foreign Ministry said that Justice and Development Party (AK Party) deputy from Black Sea Duzce province and former Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis and former Turkish State Minister Refaeddin Sahin would hold meetings in Tbilisi and Batumi on March 19 and 21.
The statement said, ''Turkey, which has improved its friendship and good neighborly relations with Georgia on the basis of cooperation, mutual confidence and sincerity since Georgia gained its independence, is pleased that the Georgian government and Adzharia Autonomous Republic have overcome the tension between themselves peacefully.''
''Taking into consideration recent developments in Georgia and issues taken up between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili's special representative on March 17, 2004, former Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis and former State Minister Refaeddin Sahin will represent our government in meetings they will hold in Tbilisi and Batumi between March 19 and 21. They will hold meetings with particularly Georgian President Saakashvili, other Georgian officials, and Adzharia Autonomous Republic's President Aslan Abashidze,'' the statement noted.
The statement added that Yakis and Sahin would express Turkey's pleasure with peaceful settlement of the crisis between Georgia and Adzharia and exchange views about measures to be taken between two sides to prevent reoccurrence of such a tension in the future.
(BRC-AÖ) 19.03.2004