Azernews.Az

By Arslan Abbasov, AzerNews Staff Writer

An agreement has been finally reached with the Iranian government on a meeting of an Azerbaijani diplomat with the two poets detained in the neighboring country over two months ago reportedly on spying charges, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman told the Baku-based APA news agency on Monday.

The consent was granted as a result of talks held by the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran with the Iranian side, Elman Abdullayev said, adding that a date and details of the upcoming meeting were being discussed.

The ministry spokesman said the achieved agreement is great success of Azerbaijani diplomacy.

According to the Vienna Convention, a foreign national must be allowed to meet with his country`s consul within 24 hours after his detention.

Earlier, Iranian officials said the detained poets, Farid Huseyn and Shahriyar Hajizada, had been allowed to meet with their parents. That meeting is expected to take place next week.

``So far, the Iranian side has not provided detailed information about the charges brought against the poets,`` Abdullayev said earlier, adding that Baku is expecting further information from Tehran.

Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has regarded Iran`s allowing the poets to meet with their parents as ``the right step``.

Huseyn and Hajizada, who headed to Iran in late April to participate at a poetry festival, were arrested on May 2. Azerbaijan`s Foreign Ministry has sent five diplomatic notes to the Iranian government over the case. The Iranian Foreign Ministry recently confirmed the arrest of the two Azerbaijani citizens, saying they were accused of ``attempting to commit a crime``, without elaborating.

Afterwards, an Iranian state TV channel reported that officials had interrogated the two Azerbaijani nationals on espionage charges, claiming that the detained poets were on a mission to recruit dissidents in Iran to promote separatism.

Iranian news websites claimed that the Azerbaijani poets were accused of drug trafficking and spying for Israel.

Azerbaijan`s Foreign Ministry dismissed the spying charges as unfounded.

Earlier this month, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry called on citizens to be cautious while traveling to Iran. Elman Abdullayev said the ministry was compelled to advise Azerbaijani citizens not to travel to Iran where they may face similar instances. He said ``nobody can be immune`` from being detained in Iran and facing absurd accusations, and regarded this attitude of the neighboring country as ``unclear and unacceptable``.

The Azerbaijani poets` arrests came amid tensions between the two nations over a number of issues, including Azerbaijan`s accusations that Iran plotted terrorist attacks in the capital Baku. Earlier this year, Azerbaijan arrested 22 people and accused them of spying for Iran. Ties have also been strained recently over reported closer ties between Azerbaijan and Iranian rival Israel.