TEHRAN (Dispatches) - Iranian Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev have held talks and called for enhancement of bilateral ties in recent years, and further promotion of mutual relations..
During their meeting on Tuesday morning, Zarif and Aliyev reiterated the two neighbors’ intentions for the reinforcement of the already cordial ties.
The implementation of a ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan was also at the heart of the conversation.
Zarif will next travel to Yerevan for a series of discussions with Armenian officials.
The Iranian top diplomat’s visit to the capitals of the two neighboring countries is viewed as part of Iran’s diplomatic efforts to enhance peace and stability in the region, particularly in the wake of last year’s deadly flare-up in Nagorno-Karabakh, the region of dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but has been occupied by ethnic Armenian separatists backed by Armenia since 1992 when they broke from Azerbaijan in a war that killed some 30,000 people.
The conflict re-erupted in late September, becoming the worst fighting in the region in decades.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry unveiled aspects of the Islamic Republic’s initiative for the resolution of the conflict back in October 2020, saying the proposed plan sought to promote “lasting peace.”