Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Despite there being no problem with pedestrian movement at the Bilesuvar and Julfa border checkpoints, there are still traffic restrictions.

At these checkpoints between Iran and Azerbaijan, the movement of Iranian and Azerbaijani citizens can be carried out by bus or on foot, Iranian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mohsen Pak Ayeen told Trend news agency on November 13.

Pak Ayeen said, however, the passage of cars and trucks at the Bilesuvar border checkpoint is not permitted and the passage of buses at the Julfa border checkpoint was also prohibited.

According to reports, there is a queue of vehicles wishing to travel from Iran to Azerbaijan and in the opposite direction because the border was closed for a few days. Despite the number of these vehicles being reduced, the passage is limited.

Last night the Iranian side allowed 175 trucks to enter the territory of Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic through the Julfa border checkpoint, Pak Ayeen said.

However, he said the exact date for permission of passage of cars and trucks through the Bilasuvar and Julfa border checkpoints is still unknown.

Pak Ayeen said earlier that the situation on the Iranian- Azerbaijani border will be normal soon.

He said that the main reason for imposing restrictions on the border-crossing point in Julfa and Bilasuvar was the closing of the Shahtakhti-Poldesht border-crossing point by Azerbaijani border guards.

Azerbaijan's Parliamentary Speaker Ogtay Asadov called on the MPs at the parliament session on November 13 not to exaggerate the scope of the problem.

He also advised not delving into various reasons for the restrictions of movement in the two-border crossing points between Iran and Azerbaijan.

Asadov said this problem is serious enough, but it is of a purely technical in nature. "I think that it is necessary to follow the correctness towards Iran - our neighbor - and do not get into unnecessary arguments," he added.

During the plenary session of the parliament MPs expressed concern over the tensions and the queues at the border with Iran.

Previously Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic's representative office in Baku said a tractor which was carrying out shore protection work at the Araz River in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan was fired at on November 5 from Iran by two persons dressed in military uniforms.

Border guards arrived at the scene after hearing the shots.

During the preliminary investigation, it was found that two 7.62 mm caliber bullets hit the radiator, and a bullet struck the side of the tractor's cab.

The tractor's location and direction of the shots prove that the fire came from Iran.
According to the Iranian Embassy, Azerbaijan closed the Poldesht checkpoint on November 6 because of the shooting of a tractor, at a place near to it.
Iran has closed border-crossing points on the border with Azerbaijan in Julfa (the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic) and Bilasuvar.
There are seven border crossings on the Azerbaijani-Iranian border.