BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 23. Azerbaijan has
been subjected to Armenia’s aggression and occupation for 30 years,
whereas Iran hasn’t expressed its attitude towards the forcible
change of borders then, Head of the Press Service of the
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Leyla Abdullayeva told local media
regarding the statements of high-ranking civilian and military
officials of Iran, Trend reports.
“Armenia has occupied twenty percent of the territory of
Azerbaijan, including 132 kilometers of the border with Iran, for
all these years. Therefore, the address of Iran’s statements, as
“Border changes in the region is a ‘red line’ for us”, is not
clear. As is known, Moscow and Brussels formats of meetings between
the Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders continue. As part of these
negotiations, the State Commission on delimitation of the state
border has been established by mutual agreement of the countries.
We believe that the issue of Azerbaijan-Armenia relations should be
resolved without outside interference,” she said.
Abdullayeva also commented on the issue related to the Iranian
border authorities’s statement on locating and arresting a
terrorist group near the Khudafarin border district on the border
with Azerbaijan.
“The Azerbaijan-Iran state border is known as the border of
friendship and cooperation. There is an exemplary experience of
mutually beneficial collaboration between Azerbaijani and Iranian
border guards. Border violations and smuggling cases are regulated
through direct contacts between commanders on the ground. Today’s
statement by the Iranian border authorities has nothing to do with
the Azerbaijan-Iran state border,” the head of the department
emphasized.
To the reporters’s question regarding the perception of the
Zangazur corridor by Iranian officials as the route “cutting” the
Iran-Armenia border, Abdullayeva recalled that Victorious Supreme
Commander of the Armed Forces Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev congratulated
the Azerbaijani and Iranian peoples on the liberation of the
Azerbaijan-Iran border from occupation.
“Azerbaijan considers its borders with Iran as an opportunity
for further development of trade and interaction. The Armenian
occupation has disrupted not only the railway communication with
Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, but also with Iran.
The Interstate Commission keeps holding discussions on opening and
restoring regional communication in accordance with the trilateral
statement of November 10, 2020,” she stated.
Furthermore, Azerbaijan and Iran signed an agreement on
establishing infrastructure to link the East Zangazur Economic
Region with the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic through Iran.
Following the agreement reached on September 22, 2022, officials
from both countries attended the groundbreaking ceremony of a road
bridge in Zangilan. Claiming the Zangazur corridor as ‘cutting’ the
border between Iran and Armenia is far from reality. On the
contrary, the Zangazur corridor is a crucial project for further
enhancement of ties between our countries and promises new
prospects for regional cooperation,” the foreign ministry
spokeswoman said.
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