TBILISI DOESN'T MIND THE STATIONING OF TURKISH MILITARY BASES IN AZERBAIJAN

PanARMENIAN.Net - YEREVAN, March 20. /Mediamax/. Tbilisi thinks the question of stationing Turkish military bases on Azeri territory is the sovereign right of Azerbaijan.

Deputy head of the International relations service of the State Office of Georgia, Shalva Pichkhadze told Prime News that if "one of the Southern Caucasian states doesn't want to get rid of the Russian militaries, then they can't forbid Azerbaijan to seek other countries' military support". Thus he commented upon the statement of Azeri president Heydar Aliyev, who recently paid a visit to Turkey, concerning his wish to station Turkish military bases in Azerbaijan.

Shalva Pichkhadze said though that Russia, most likely, will nervously react to Aliyev's position, and such reaction can adversely affect all the Southern Caucasian states. At the same time, the very presence of Turkish military bases in Azerbaijan may become for Western states a certain pledge of protection of their economic interests in the region, Shalva Pichkhadze said. --0--