Iran ready to help establish peace, security in Caucasus: FM Zarif

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the Islamic Republic is ready to work with the Republic of Azerbaijan to establish peace and stability in the Caucasus region.

Zarif made the remarks in a Monday meeting with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in Baku, where he is currently on an official visit as part of a regional tour that will take him to Armenia, Georgia, Russia and Turkey as well.

During his meeting with Aliyev, Zarif declared Iran’s readiness to cooperate in all areas that would lead to the establishment of peace, stability and calm in the Caucasus region.

Just finished extensive and very fruitful conversations in Baku on bilateral ties & regional cooperation with @presidentaz, DPM Shahin Mustafayev & FM @bayramov_jeyhun.

Recipe for sustainable peace lies in inclusive regional arrangements – incl. transit corridors benefiting all. pic.twitter.com/PPGNYGFkYK — Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 25, 2021

The top Iranian diplomat also congratulated the Azeri government and nation on their recent victory in the latest round of armed conflict with the neighboring Armenia over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, calling for the promotion of bilateral cooperation.

Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but has been occupied by ethnic Armenian separatists since 1992 when they broke from Azerbaijan in a war that killed some 30,000 people.

The latest armed conflict between the two countries erupted on September 27 last year and ended on November 10 through a Russian-brokered truce.

As part of the truce agreement, Armenia returned swathes of territory it had occupied for decades to Azeri control.

The agreement was signed after the Azerbaijani army overwhelmed Armenian forces and threatened to advance on Karabakh’s main city of Khankendi, which Armenians call Stepanakert after a 19th-century Bolshevik militant.