Azernews.Az

By Gunay Hasanova

Following the signed nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers, the Islamic Republic is back in the picture and it is a good opportunity to start a new page in relationship with Azerbaijan, said Nathalie Goulet, vice chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the French Senate on August 7.

Goulet made the comments regarding the meeting of Azerbaijani and Iranian presidents in Baku on August 7.

Goulet also mentioned that Iran and Azerbaijan have a unique cultural proximity.

According to unofficial statistics, there are over 25 million Azerbaijanis living in Iran.

Goulet believes that topics of economic nature between Azerbaijan and Iran are important part of the cooperation between the neighboring states.

Azerbaijan and Iran cooperate in a major international North-South transportation corridor project. The corridor is meant to connect Northern Europe to South-East Asia. It will serve as a link connecting the railways of Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia.

The future perspectives of North-South Transport Corridor will be discussed in the meeting as well. The route primarily involves moving freight from India, Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia via ship, rail and road. Development of the international transport corridor is expected to reduce transport costs and strengthen the trade relations between the countries.

At the initial stage, the North-South corridor will transport 5 million tons of cargo per year with further expansion of transportation to over 10 million tons.

In addition, the consequences of the meeting may positively affect the future status of the Caspian Sea.

"The two sides have reached some agreements regarding to joint activities in the Caspian Sea which can be an important step in the future of Tehran-Baku ties", said Rouhani after a meeting in Baku with President Aliyev on August 7.

Rouhani also said that he has held talks with Ilham Aliyev regarding the legal status of the Caspian Sea.

Goulet also believes that Iran may play a crucial part as a go-between in the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement. Moreover, the French senator believes that Iran has to show that it doesn't have any intention to interfere in domestic policy of Azerbaijan.

Previously, President Rouhani stressed that Iran is against any change of political borders in the region.

The Iranian president further said that he has held talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart on the issue.

Iran believes that peace and stability should be established in the region, Rouhani said, adding all conflicts and problems between the countries should be settled through negotiations.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

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