Iran, Azerbaijan Discuss Promotion of Ties

During the Saturday talks, various aspects of bilateral ties were discussed with a focus on development of economic cooperation between the two neighbouring states.

They also exchanged views on the most important regional and international issues.

The visit of top Azeri diplomat came a few days after the trip of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to Tehran, which caused concerns in Baku given the ongoing dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

In reaction to the concerns, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said last week Tehran’s policy towards the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute has not changed, and the country is still prepared to help Armenia and Azerbaijan Republic settle the dispute peacefully.

“As I have repeated time and again, the Islamic Republic of Iran has a clear, transparent and clear-cut stance towards all its neighbours,” said the spokesman.

“The top priority of Iran’s foreign policy is its neighbours. We are keen on having strong ties with our neighbours based on mutual respect and non-interference in [each other’s] domestic affairs and at the same time seeking to further expand our relations,” Qassemi noted.

“In our estimation, Iran’s relations with any of the neighbouring countries will, undoubtedly, not be against the interests of a third country, be it one of the neighbours or another country in the world,” he added.