Iranian Defense Minister in Baku for Talks on Regional Security
Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh has traveled to the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, for meetings with senior officials aimed at expanding defense cooperation and promoting regional stability.
The Iranian minister’s visit is taking place within the framework of developing security and defense relations between the two neighboring countries and exchanging views on the establishment of peace and stability in the region.
In a meeting with General Nasirzadeh in Baku on Friday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev reaffirmed his country’s readiness to provide support in de-escalating growing tensions between Iran and the US.
A statement by the Republic of Azerbaijan’s presidency said Aliyev reaffirmed Baku’s position, recalling that he mentioned this during a recent phone call with his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian in which he also conveyed his country’s concern about the current regional situation.
Aliyev also stated that high-level contacts between the two countries in various formats provide excellent opportunities to discuss issues on their agenda, Anadolu Agency reported.
Highlighting that President Masoud Pezeshkian's official visit to Azerbaijan last year was successful and yielded positive results, President Ilham Aliyev stated that relations have developed further since that visit, the statement said.
It further said that while conflicts continue in many parts of the world today, peace has already been established in the South Caucasus, expressing confidence that this holds great importance for Iran, which borders both Azerbaijan and Armenia.
“We want peace throughout the world, no bloodshed, no wars,” Aliyev was quoted as saying, stressing that Azerbaijan exemplifies a successful transition from war to peace.
For his part, Nasirzadeh conveyed greetings from the Iranian president and that he came to Baku on the instructions of Pezeshkian, who “holds great affection for Azerbaijan.”
During the conversation, they noted the development of bilateral relations based on principles of friendship, brotherhood, and good-neighborliness between the two countries, and exchanged views on prospects for defense cooperation, the statement added.