Azerbaijan, Baku, 11 March / Trend corr. S.Agayeva / The issue of cooperation in the energy sphere within the framework of 'Organization for democracy and economic development -GUAM' will be discussed in Tbilisi. The meeting of GUAM Task Group will be held in Georgia on 21 March, GUAM Secretariat reported in Kiev.
Recently, Valeri Chechelashvili, GUAM Secretary-General conferred with Burza Aliyev, Deputy Energy Minister of Ukraine, on the issues of cooperation in the energy sphere.
The GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development is a regional organization of four CIS states: Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova. A summit in Yalta on 6 June to 7 June 2001, was linked with the signing of GUAM's charter by the four existing members (and Uzbekistan, which later withdrew), which formalized the organization. The group is sometimes seen as a way of countering the influence of Russia in the area and as part of a strategy backed by the United States. However, GUAM leaders repeatedly and officially dismiss such claims and declare their strong willingness to develop close friendly relations with Russia. Moreover, Azerbaijan, the group's main energy power, has managed to avoid any controversies with Russia in recent years.