Azerbaijani, Iranian officials mull bilateral relations
By Sara Rajabova
Azerbaijani and Iranian officials expressed satisfaction with the current level of relations between the two countries.
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov received a delegation led by Iranian deputy foreign minister, the country's special envoy for Caspian Sea diplomacy, Ebrahim Rahimpour on March 13.
During the meeting, the sides exchanged views on expansion of economic and trade relations, implementation of transport projects, realization of humanitarian and cultural projects, the development of the legal framework and the issues related to the Caspian legal status.
They noted the importance of the meeting between the Azerbaijani and Iranians presidents in Davos in terms of further development of bilateral cooperation.
Mammadyarov touched upon the forthcoming trilateral meeting of Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey, adding such meetings contribute to furthering the cooperation.
The meeting of foreign ministers of three countries will take place in the Turkish city of Van on March 14.
Rahimpour, in turn, stressed the strategic importance of Azerbaijan, saying that he would also visit Nakhchivan where he will hold bilateral meetings.
Speaking of the Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan, Mammadyarov underlined that withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and return of Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced persons to their historical lands will contribute to the peace process and strengthen peace, stability and security in the region.
Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor that had caused a lengthy war in the early 1990s.
The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenia's withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been enforced to this day.
Earlier in the day, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev received the visiting Iranian delegation.
The sides discussed how to expand bilateral and multilateral relations between the two countries in a variety of fields.