First session of defense talks in Georgia ends

By Sarp Ozer and Davit Kachkachishvili

BATUMI, Georgia (AA) - The chairperson of the South-East Europe Defense Ministerial (SEDM) Process on Wednesday called for mutual struggle against threats to security in the region.

Eleftherios Anghelopoulos was speaking at a joint press conference with Georgian Defense Minister Levan Izoria after the first session of the SEDM meeting in the Black Sea coastal city of Batumi.

"It is possible to be successful against the various threats, risks and challenges in our region, but only when we struggle together and join forces," Anghelopoulos said during the meeting.

Izoria shared his sentiment, saying the current problems in the world meant that all NATO allies and NATO partner countries must provide "concrete support" to each other.

Turkey's National Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli met with Izoria after the meeting and described Georgia as a "brother country," adding "we (Turkey) love Georgia. We attach great importance to it."

Izoria also expressed his appreciation for Canikli's visit to his country.

Turkey is one of 16 countries attending the SEDM meeting in Georgia.

Peace and security in the region as well as the integration process with NATO will be the main topics of the gathering.

SEDM was established in 1996 during a meeting of regional ministers in Albania. Its main principle is to “strengthen understanding and politico-military cooperation in the region in order to enhance stability and security in South East Europe”.

Turkey, Greece, Italy, Romania, Albania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Ukraine and the U.S. plus the hosts Georgia are the members of the platform. Moldova is an observer state.