Azernews.Az

By Aisha Jabbarova

President Ilham Aliyev has said that the relations between Azerbaijan and its southern neighbour Iran have been developing positively, and that he is pleased with the level of cooperation during Hassan Rouhani’s presidency.

Aliyev made the remarks while receiving Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in Baku on May 25.

Aliyev said that all initiatives and decisions put forward by himself and Rouhani have been implemented.

“We have made great progress in all areas. I think that the relations between our countries are perhaps at the highest level in the history of our cooperation.”

The president reminded that the two countries increased trade turnover recently despite the pandemic.

Stressing that there are new opportunities and challenges due to the post-conflict situation in the region, Aliyev said that “Iran and Azerbaijan as two brotherly countries must coordinate efforts and contribute to long-term and sustainable peace in the region.”

In turn, Zarif expressed Iran’s willingness to play a historic role in bringing peace to the region following the end of the last year’s war over Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region.

“We in Iran are ready to play any role in achieving this [peace], as well as in the reconstruction and restoration of the liberated territories,” Zarif said.

It should be noted that Hassan Rouhani's term as Iran's president will end soon as June 18 has been set as the date for the country’s next presidential election.

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