Iran's FM discusses Caucasus developments with Russian, Armenian diplomats

Tehran, Aug 14 Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi exchanged views on the latest developments in the Caucasus with senior Russian and Armenian diplomats.

In two separate meetings with Igor Khovaev on Wednesday, Russia's special representative for the normalisation of ties between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Vahan Kostanyan, Armenia's deputy foreign minister, Araghchi also discussed bilateral relations with the two countries, according to statements released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

In both meetings, Araghchi underlined Iran's principled position of supporting the establishment of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, highlighting the necessity to peacefully resolve regional issues through efforts by the countries of the region and in the absence of foreign interference.

Speaking to Khovaev, he called for using regional mechanisms to resolve regional issues, promoting cooperation and convergence in the region, and guaranteeing the security and collective interests of countries in the Caucasus.

Araghchi said Iran and Russia adopted similar positions on important regional and international issues, stressing the need to continue and promote bilateral consultations and cooperation to safeguard their shared interests.

The Russian diplomat, for his part, presented a report of his country's diplomatic efforts to ensure peace and calm in the Caucasus, underlining the importance of continuous and close consultations, coordination and interaction between Russia and Iran, Xinhua News Agency reported.

In his meeting with the Armenian deputy foreign minister, Araghchi underlined that the unblocking of transit routes in the region should take place while respecting regional countries' national sovereignty and territorial integrity and observing their interests and considerations.

He said no plan to unblock transit routes should lead to geopolitical changes in the region or the disruption of connection routes between other countries, stressing that regional states would benefit from any peace agreement in the region.

Kostanyan updated Araghchi on the latest developments in the South Caucasus region, giving the assurance that his country considered its relations with Iran as strategic and paid serious attention to regional stability, and Iran's security and geopolitical concerns when making decisions about any agreement pertaining to peace, security and transit routes in the Caucasus.

Armenia and Azerbaijan, at loggerheads over the mountainous Nagorno-Karabakh region since 1988, have been having peace talks since 1994, when a ceasefire was agreed on, despite sporadic clashes since then.

On Friday, the leaders of the two countries witnessed the initialing of a peace agreement at the White House, ending their decades-long border conflict, with further steps to be taken to eventually sign and ratify the agreement.

A deal included in the agreement grants the United States exclusive rights to create and develop a major transit corridor across southern Armenia, which would directly link Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhchivan and later Turkey.

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