Azernews.Az

By Aynur Karimova

Baku hosted the first trilateral meeting of foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran on April 7, where the three countries discussed both political and economic issues, as well as recent developments in the region.

The agenda of the meeting included an exchange of views on realization of bilateral and trilateral projects, as well as the North-South transport corridor, regional security issues, including the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The Baku meeting was constructive and successful in all aspects of discussions - both in economic and political fields. The meeting is believed to open a new page in the history of regional cooperation and would contribute to the strengthening of peace and stability in the region.

Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, addressing a press conference, said that the three countries attach a great importance to the transport corridors passing through these countries, and in particular the railway networks.

The minister revealed the date of the groundbreaking ceremony of the railway bridge construction on the border between Azerbaijan and Iran, noting that it will take place on April 20.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in turn, stressed that an agreement on the joint work of transportation ministries, customs and consular services was reached to advance the transportation projects.

The sides also agreed that the relevant ministries of these countries will comprehensively review the implementation of the North-South transport corridor project.

The North-South corridor, from India to Helsinki, with a length of 5,000 kilometers is designed to carry more than 20 million tons per year. It is a multimodal route for transportation of passengers and cargo from Russia's St. Petersburg to the Mumbai port. It is designed to carry transit cargo from India, Iran and other Persian Gulf countries to the territory of Russia (the Caspian Sea) and further - to Northern and Western Europe.

Lavrov, commenting on a question about the possibility of Russia's investment in the Qazvin- Rasht-Astara railway construction project, said that the parties will elaborate on the substantive implementation of the project.

"The issues relating to the financial areas of cooperation were considered. Our relevant departments will begin substantive elaboration of the practical aspects of implementation of the North-South project on the western coast of the Caspian Sea. This involves works with the participation of the transport ministers, who should consider the technical and financial parameters of the project. This also involves interaction between the customs and consular services, on which we have agreed today," the Russian FM added.

The Qazvin-Rasht-Astara railway is a part of the North-South transport corridor. Construction investments are estimated at $400 million.

Initial plans call for transporting six million tons of cargo through the corridor a year, which is expected to reach 15-20 million tons per year in the future.

Baku has already expressed willingness to invest in the Qazvin-Rasht-Astara railway construction project on the territory of Iran.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, in turn, noted that during trilateral meeting, the sides discussed energy cooperation.

"Iran is trying to regain its oil market share, as its energy sector got heavily impacted by international sanctions," he said.

Iran, which is trying to boost its oil exports to pre-sanctions level, saw its oil export decrease from 2.2 million barrels per day in 2011 to about one million barrels per day in 2015 due to sanctions. After the elimination of sanctions in mid-January 2016 due to the nuclear agreement, Iran boosted the exports to 1.5 million barrels per day.

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on agenda

Recent tensions on the line of contact of the Armenian and Azerbaijani Armed Forces, settlement of the conflict, as well as regional security issues also occupied the agenda of the Baku meeting of the three foreign ministers.

Speaking about the long-lasting Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Mammadyarov said that it is impossible to maintain the status quo in the conflict for a long time.

"There are specific proposals, we shared ideas and thoughts," the minister said, adding that this issue was discussed on April 6 at the presidential level as well.

He said that it is necessary to get directly engaged in the settlement of the conflict and solve it fast, “because people are dying”.

Lavrov, for his part, assured that Russia will make every effort to promote its initiatives in the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"We shouldn't relax in finding a solution to the conflict," Lavrov said, adding that Russia is satisfied with the ceasefire agreement.

"There were contacts between Moscow and the parties [of the conflict] at all levels, we tried to help our friends and we hope the ceasefire will be maintained," he said. "The situation demands working out confidence-building measures on the line of contact and looking back to the previous agreement reached during the talks."

In his remarks, Zarif stressed that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be resolved through negotiations on the basis of principles of international law.

Zarif believes that discussions will be held further to make serious decisions.

He expressed hope that the ceasefire will last and its outcome will be serious talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Other issues of mutual interest mulled

Iran, Russia and Baku also discussed counter-terrorism and fighting drug trafficking and smuggling.

"The three countries also agreed to develop humanitarian ties, and discussed the issue of defining the Caspian Sea status," Mammadyarov informed. "On April 6, Baku hosted a meeting at the level of deputy ministers of the five Caspian littoral states. The issue of defining the status of the Caspian Sea is still relevant. We all expect a final decision regarding the status."

Azerbaijan and Iran also mulled simplification of visa regime.

"This issue was discussed in Baku during the bilateral talks with the Iranian side and currently, we are close to reaching the result," Mammadyarov said. "We will introduce a simplified visa regime between Azerbaijan and Iran soon."

He also stressed that Azerbaijan will participate in the meeting of the oil producing countries in Doha, Qatar.

Zarif, in turn, said that preparations are underway for a trilateral meeting of the Iranian, Azerbaijani and Russian presidents in Baku.

Zarif and Lavrov have also discussed the Syrian crisis during their meeting in Baku. They talked the necessity of continuing the coordination between Iran and Russia over the Syrian crisis.

Communiqué issued

The milestone of the Baku meeting of Mammadyarov, Lavrov and Zarif was issuance of a communiqué, under which the parties agreed to continue the further development of cooperation on the basis of mutual respect, partnership and the principle of noninterference in each other's internal affairs.

The ministers confirmed their commitment to the principles and norms of international law, as reflected in the UN Charter. The commitment to conflict resolution in the region was also confirmed in this regard.

The Azerbaijani, Russian and Iranian foreign ministers also noted the importance of strengthening the fight against new challenges that threaten the regional stability and security and confirmed their readiness for a joint fight against terrorism, extremism, drug trafficking and others. The commitment to the development of cooperation in trilateral format on economic, energy, transport, culture and tourism issues was confirmed.

Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran confirmed the importance of continuing efforts in determining the status of the Caspian Sea, the signing of a final convention before long, as well as establishment of peace and security in the sea.

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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova

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