Iran warns about consequences of foreign presence in region
Speaking to his Azerbaijani counterpart, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has reiterated Iran’s strong opposition to any foreign presence in the region, stressing that cooperation between regional countries is the key to their collective peace and security.
"We consider the regional security to be a contiguous category, and consider the Azerbaijani republic's security to be [integrated with] that of the region and that of our own," the top diplomat told Jeyhun Bayramov during a phone call on Sunday.
"We declare our opposition to any deployment of foreign forces in the region and deem it to be contradictory to the regional peace, stability, and cooperation," the Iranian official added.
The Islamic Republic, he said, is of the opinion that foreign presence complicates the status quo in the region.
Tehran believes that it is only "regional mechanisms" that could help resolve the region's problems, including the 3+3 mechanism of cooperation among regional countries, which features the three South Caucasian countries of Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan plus Russia, Turkey, and Iran, Amir-Abdollahian stated.
The Iranian foreign minister noted that the Islamic Republic would invariably keep up efforts to resolve standing differences between Azerbaijan and its estranged neighbor Armenia.
His remarks came against the backdrop of a bubbling and periodically deadly dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but has been populated by ethnic Armenians.
Last month, simmering tensions between the neighbors caused a fresh escalation over the region, leaving nearly 100 soldiers dead on both sides. This was the most recent conflict between the Caucasus' countries since thousands were killed in a 44-day war over the territory that ended in November 2020.
For his part, the Azeri official touted Iran for its attempts at contributing to regional peace and stability.
He likewise conveyed Baku's objection to foreign deployments in the region, emphasizing the importance of continued regional cooperation, including within the 3+3 format.
Bayramov, meanwhile, said sustained direct contact between the Iranian and Azeri counterparts indicated the depth of the countries' relations, adding, "We attach importance and respect to these ties."
The Azeri official also welcomed a planned trip to his country by Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, calling it an important step towards further development of the bilateral ties.
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