ISTANBUL

Georgia on Thursday announced that it is hosting a trilateral meeting in the country’s capital Tbilisi with representatives of Azerbaijan and Armenia.

A statement by the Georgian Foreign Ministry said the closed-door meeting is taking place with the participation of the countries' deputy foreign ministers, as well as other members of their respective delegations.

The meeting started with opening remarks from Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili, who stressed Georgia’s desire to advance regional cooperation and to identify common interests, the statement said.

"The South Caucasus is a region of strategic importance, with immense potential, which we can jointly benefit," Botchorishvili was quoted as saying, defining the sharing of their visions of the region and exploring possibilities for trilateral cooperation as both "very timely and very much needed."

The statement further said the aim of their talks is also to "identify common interests among the three countries in areas that will contribute to enhancing mutually beneficial, practical trilateral cooperation in support of regional prosperity, stability, and sustainable development."

It went on to say that the meeting does not contradict or replace existing formats of cooperation, but rather serves as an additional effort by the three countries to establish constructive and mutually beneficial contact.

The talks come after a panel discussion between the foreign ministers of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum on Saturday.