Turkish premier meets Georgian counterpart

ISTANBUL (A.A) - January 13, 2012 - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday met with his Georgian counterpart Mikheil Saakashvili in Istanbul. The two leaders met at Istanbul's Ataturk International Airport where they welcomed Turkish and Georgian crew members of a cargo ship who returned safely after being held hostage for 16 months by Somali pirates. "I believe that the Turkish-Georgian cooperation in this specific case will be recorded as a sign of our historical brotherhood and solidarity," Erdogan told reporters after meeting Saakashvili.  Three Turkish and 15 Georgian crew members were taken hostage aboard a Malta-flagged Greek cargo ship hijacked back in September 2010 in the Indian Ocean. They were released last Sunday.