Azernews.Az

By Rashid Shirinov

The Islamic Republic of Iran supports the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and stands for a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the norms and principles of international law.

Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Parliament) of Iran Ali Larijani said this at a meeting with Azerbaijan’s Defense Minister, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov in Tehran on April 17, Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry reported.

During the meeting, Hasanov hailed the importance and great contribution of numerous meetings and mutual visits of Azerbaijani and Iranian presidents and officials to the expansion of bilateral ties, as well as to the development and strengthening of the bilateral cooperation.

Touching upon security issues in the region, the minister informed Larijani about the ongoing negotiations on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, in particular about the incidents that have occurred recently on the contact line between the troops.

For more than two decades Armenia and Azerbaijan are in a state of war following Yerevan’s aggression, ethnic cleansing policy and illegal territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenia keeps under control over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions in a brutal war in the early 1990s. Despite a fragile ceasefire agreement signed in 1994, Armenia keeps violating armistice with Azerbaijan.

The sides also discussed prospects for the development of Azerbaijan-Iran cooperation in the military and military-technical sphere, and considered regional, global and a number of issues of mutual interest.

Heading a high-ranking military delegation, Hasanov arrived in Tehran on April 15 at the invitation of his Iranian counterpart.

Earlier, Hasanov has held fruitful talks with Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehghan and Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran Ali Shamkhani.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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