TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan are capable of resolving the existing problems without any intervention by third parties, Iran’s top diplomat said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov had a telephone conversation on Monday.
During the conversation, Iran’s top diplomat said, “Relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan are such that they can resolve the existing problems in their ties in a bilateral manner and put them on the right track.”
He also touched upon the most important regional and international developments, stressing the necessity of continued and close consultations between the two neighboring countries.
The Azeri foreign minister, for his part, lauded Amirabdollahian’s “constructive efforts” toward settling the existing tensions in the two countries’ relations, Press TV reported.
Bayramov described his conversation with the Iranian foreign minister as positive, expressing hope that bilateral relations would further expand following resolution of a number of outstanding issues in the near future.
The two foreign ministers also discussed other issues of mutual interest, including the North-South Transport Corridor as well as future cooperation within such regional and international organizations as the Economic Cooperation Organization and the Non-Aligned Movement.
During an earlier telephone conversation in June, the foreign ministers had emphasized the need for the two neighbors to resolve the existing misunderstandings in the best interest of their mutual ties.
Back then, both top diplomats insisted on the need for the continuation of consultations between Tehran and Baku, adding that the two countries must exchange technical and specialized teams to help eliminate their differences.
Tehran-Baku relations became strained in January when Azerbaijan’s embassy in the Iranian capital came under attack.
Azerbaijan termed the attack a “terrorist” incident, although a probe has shown that the attacker was motivated by “personal and family-related problems.”
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev also blamed the incident on the “Iranian establishment.”
Later, Baku expelled four Iranian diplomats, prompting Tehran to respond with a similar move.
On the other hand, Azerbaijan has been boosting its ties with Israel, hosting the regime’s president, Isaac Herzog, in late May. After his meeting with Aliyev, Herzog said the two had spoken in depth about global and regional security, claiming that the regime was “endangered and threatened by Iran.”
Earlier this year, Israel’s foreign minister, Eli Cohen, claimed he had agreed with Bayramov on an anti-Iranian posture.
Tehran has slammed Baku for its partnership with the occupying regime towards the establishment of a united front against the Islamic Republic.
