Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Azerbaijani President and his Iranian counterpart had an expanded meeting involving their delegations.

Ilham Aliyev paid an official visit to Tehran on April 9 to hold talks on a range of issues, including bilateral ties.

After the expanded meeting, President Aliyev and Hassan Rouhani met in private, and then several bilateral documents were signed by the two sides, AzerTag news Agency reported.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation was signed between Azerbaijani and Iranian ministries of youth and sports. The document was signed by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and Iranian Youth and Sports Minister Mahmoud Gudarzi.

A MoU on cooperation on the elimination of the consequences of emergency situations between the Azerbaijani Ministry of Emergency Situations and Iranian Interior Ministry was signed by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Mammadyarov and Iranian Interior Minister Abdulreza Fazli.

A MoU on cooperation on hydrometeorology and related issues between Azerbaijani Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources and Iranian Ministry of Roads and Urban Development was signed by Azerbaijani Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Huseyngulu Baghirov and Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Abbas Akhundi.

An agreement on cooperation between the governments of Iran and Azerbaijan in the sphere of construction and operation of Ordubad and Marazad hydropower plants was signed by Azerbaijani Minister of Economy and Industry Shahin Mustafayev and Iranian Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian.

The signing ceremony was followed by a press conference in which Presidents Aliyev and Rouhani made press statements.

Saying that no change will be acceptable in regional geopolitics, Rouhani voiced Tehran's readiness to help solve regional problems, including the Karabakh conflict, within the frameworks of international laws and justice, IRNA reported.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since a lengthy war in the early 1990s that displaced over one million Azerbaijanis, the Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. The UN Security Council's four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal have not been enforced to this day.

Peace talks, mediated by Russia, France, and the U.S. through the OSCE Minsk Group, are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles. Negotiations have been largely fruitless so far.

"All must help settle disagreements through diplomatic and peaceful means," Rouhani said.

He also said President Aliyev also stressed Iran's legitimate nuclear rights during their bilateral talks which took place at Saadabad Historical Cultural Complex, where the two presidents discussed issues of mutual interest.

Azerbaijan and Iran have had diplomatic relations since 1918. Iran recognized Azerbaijan's independence in 1991, and diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1992.