Iran warned Monday against “any geopolitical change” in the Caucasus region, recognizing at the same time Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said in his weekly press conference, “We oppose any change in international borders and geopolitical changes to international borders.”
He was referring to the Zangzur Corridor project extending on the border with Iran, which is supposed to allow Baku to secure continuity of territory all the way to Nakhichevan, the autonomous republic located between Armenia, Iran, and Turkey and annexed to Azerbaijan.
Annexing this strategic road, according to Tehran, will cut off Iran’s access to Armenia and Europe.
On the other hand, Kanaani said that Iran “has always supported the return of the occupied territories” in Nagorno-Karabakh “to Azerbaijan.”
The Armenian separatists from Nagorno-Karabakh surrendered last week to a lightning attack launched by Azerbaijan that left about 600 people dead, while more than 100,000 Armenians were displaced from this region.
The Iranian spokesman made these statements while a senior Armenian official, Secretary of the Security Council, Armen Gregorian, has been visiting Tehran since Sunday, and will meet on Monday with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian.
On this occasion, Tehran reaffirmed its support for Yerevan, with close relations between the two countries, especially trade.
When receiving Gregorian, Secretary of the Iranian National Security Council, Ali Akbar Ahmadian, stressed the need to make efforts to restore calm in order to “not inflame the crisis.”
Relations between Baku and Tehran are traditionally sensitive, as Turkish-speaking Azerbaijan is a close ally of Turkey, Iran’s historical rival.
On the other hand, Baku buys weapons from Israel, another major opponent of the Iranian authorities.
Iran has an Azeri-speaking community of about ten million people, as well as an Armenian community of about one hundred thousand people.
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2023-10-02 14:27:55
