Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili thanked Azerbaijan for supporting its independence and lauded developments on several joint energy projects, Trend Capital News reported Wednesday.

"Azerbaijan is a guarantor of Georgia's independence," Saakashvili said at a ceremony for the Kars-Tbilisi-Baku railway.

The Georgian president also said it was important to note the two countries showed resolve in moving the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum natural gas pipeline (also known as the South Caucasus Pipeline) forward in the face of political pressure.

Both pipelines are politically controversial. Western countries support the projects as a possible way to ease Europe's dependence on Russian natural resources. Russia, consequently, views the projects as an attempt to weaken its influence on former Soviet satellites.

Russia and Georgia also have been engaged in a dispute over Moscow-backed separatists in the Georgian republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Saakashvili said his country had always been a strong supporter of Azerbaijan, specifically during the winter 2005 energy crisis.

"Georgian people will never forget that," he said.