Azernews.Az

Azerbaijan and Iran would ultimately ``work things out``, Azerbaijani Presidential Administration department head Ali Hasanov said in an interview with The New York Times regarding current tensions between the two neighbors.

``We will find a formula by which the secular state will live in peace with the religious state. We are proud of the fact that we are Muslims, and we are proud that we are a secular country,`` Hasanov said, according to David Herszenhorn`s article.

Azerbaijani-Iranian relations have recently soured. Tension emerged after the rumors that a group of foreigners was going to organize a gay parade in Baku during the Eurovision song contest in late May. Afterwards, anti-Azerbaijani demonstrations were held in neighboring Iran urging to ban a gay parade and not to conduct the song contest, which allegedly contradicts Islamic values.

Though Baku repeatedly said it would not allow holding such a parade in the capital city, the anti-Azerbaijani campaign in Iran did not stop, and protests were held outside the Azerbaijani consulate in Tabriz. In response, rallies were held in front of Iran`s embassy in Baku, with protesters urging to stop the hostile campaign.

Further, Iran recalled its ambassador to Tehran for consultations on May 22.

The tensions rose further after two young Azerbaijani writers went missing in Iran. Azerbaijan has sent three diplomatic notes to Tehran to enquire about the whereabouts of its citizens, but to no avail so far.

During the interview, Hasanov also spoke of the delayed appointment of a US ambassador to Baku. He said that the lack of an ambassador was problematic.

``We are missing the consultations with the American ambassador,`` he said. ``Americans cannot write off a country like Azerbaijan. They cannot leave Azerbaijan on its own.``

The United States has not had an ambassador in Baku since the departure of Matthew Bryza in January 2012. Bryza, former US Deputy Assistant Secretary, was appointed by President Barack Obama bypass the Senate in December 2010 under a so-called recess appointment. But he had to end his one-year diplomatic mission and return to Washington after his final approval in the Senate was blocked by several pro-Armenian senators claiming his pro-Azerbaijani bias.

Late last month, Obama nominated Richard Morningstar, a former ambassador to the European Union and currently the special envoy for Eurasian energy issues, to be the next ambassador in Baku. Morningstar is awaiting confirmation by the Senate. His candidacy will be debated in the US Senate foreign affairs committee on Wednesday, according to the Senate`s website.

Commenting on the reports about raising to $300 million from the current $7 million per year the lease of the Gabala radar station, a mammoth Soviet-era facility in Azerbaijan leased by Russia, Hasanov said the increase was justified because of a sharp rise in property values, the article says.

The term of lease of the Gabala facility will expire in December 2012. At present, negotiations continue on a new lease agreement.