Iranian FM says misunderstandings between Tehran, Baku passed

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has said that the relations between Tehran and Baku have changed from misunderstanding to interaction.

"In the last 10 months, we have successfully passed the stage of misunderstandings that existed between the two countries and now we are in the stage of increasing development of comprehensive relations in line with the interests of the two nations," Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks on July 4 in a joint press conference with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov in Tehran, according to the ISNA news agency.

"A few months ago, when there were some media misunderstandings between the two countries, an agreement was reached to form a joint media committee with the presence of the spokespersons of the two countries' foreign ministries. Khatibzadeh [spokesperson of the Iranian foreign ministry) was in charge of this committee on behalf of Iran, and he and his other colleagues in this committee helped reduce some media misunderstandings between the two countries," the Iranian minister said.

Amir-Abdollahian referred to his meeting with Bayramov earlier today (July 4), and said that a variety of issues were discussed between them including developing Tehran-Baku ties and cooperation and preserving the territorial integrity of countries.

Saying that the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict was another topic emphasized during their meeting, Amir-Abdollahian stated that from the beginning of the conflict, Iran announced its readiness to resolve the crisis through dialogue.

"We are ready for the remaining issues to be resolved based on respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the parties and through dialogue and diplomacy," he added.

Noting that it is important to consider the regional formats, the Iranian top diplomat continued that during his last week's trip to Ankara, he and the Turkish foreign minister agreed on holding a tripartite meeting of Iran, Azerbaijan, and Turkiye in Tehran at the level of foreign ministers.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Amir-Abdollahian stated that the trip of the Azerbaijani President to Iran will be discussed between the two sides later today.

Saying that the Aras River's environmental issues were also discussed with the Azerbaijani side, the Iranian minister stressed the importance of implementing the existing projects as well.

He said that energy and transit are two important issues in the field of economic cooperation between Iran and Azerbaijan, adding that the Iranian energy minister will consult with the Azerbaijani authorities regarding the exploitation of Khodafarin and Qiz Qalasi reservoirs during his visit to Azerbaijan this week.

Amir-Abdollahian said that the two sides have reached some agreements on electricity exchanges between Iran and Azerbaijan, that would be finalized during this visit.

"We are pleased to see a leap in the volume of trade between the two countries in the past months, and we hope that with today's talks, the commercial and economic areas in the private and public sectors will expand relations," the Iranian minister underlined.