Azerbaijani official calls Iran ‘important neighbor’ for Baku as tensions ease

Azerbaijan’s government has underlined the significance of diplomacy with the Islamic Republic of Iran and described Tehran as an “important neighbor” for Baku amid efforts by the two sides to iron out differences.

Elchin Amirbayov, an advisor to the vice president of the Republic of Azerbaijan, in remarks on Tuesday, underlined the need for bolstering ties with Tehran following talks between the two sides at various levels in past week. 

“It is important for us that Iran, which is an important neighbor in terms of magnitude and history, remain a good neighbor," he remarked.

Amirbayov pointed to Azeri speakers in Iran and said there are about 20 to 30 million people of Azeri descent in Iran, adding that despite differences in the viewpoints of Tehran and Baku, good relations between the two countries are of great importance.

"The most important issue is to maintain peace with Iran and to establish stability in the region," the Azerbaijani official stressed.

The remarks were made days after the foreign ministers of Iran and Azerbaijan held discussions about ways to resolve the existing misunderstandings and issues pertaining to mutual relations amid soaring tensions between the two neighboring countries.

During two rounds of detailed talks on Friday night and Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Azeri counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov stressed the importance of respecting good neighborliness, national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Iran, Azerbaijan FMs discuss ways to resolve misunderstandings in ties

The Iranian and Azeri foreign ministers discuss ways to solve the existing misunderstandings and issues pertaining to mutual relations.

Meanwhile, Iran's Ambassador to Azerbaijan Abbas Mousavi took to his Twitter account on Wednesday and said he had held “candid and constructive” talks with Hikmet Hajiyev, the assistant of the president of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

“Following the constructive negotiations btw the FMs of the Islamic Republic of Iran & Azerbaijan, I also had a candid & constructive talk with @HikmetHajiyev asst. to the @presidentaz. I hope that the final outcome of the process that has started will be in favor of the interests of both countries & the region,” Mousavi wrote.

Azerbaijan’s relations with Iran were strained in January following an attack on the country’s embassy in Tehran.

Azerbaijan closed its diplomatic mission following the incident and evacuated staff over what it called a “terrorist act,” with President Ilham Aliyev blaming it on the “Iranian establishment.”

This is while an initial investigation pointed to “personal and family-related problems” as the motive of the assailant.

Azerbaijan said on Thursday it has declared four Iranian embassy employees persona non grata, claiming the diplomats conducted "provocative actions" in the latest deterioration of relations between the two neighbors.

The move came hours after Baku said it arrested six men, who it claimed were linked to Iranian secret services and were plotting a coup in the Caspian nation.

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