Presidents of Azerbaijan and Iran made statements for the press

Statement by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev

Esteemed Mr President,

First of all, I would like to express my deep gratitude to you for the invitation and the hospitality shown to me and my delegation.

I am very happy to be on fraternal Iranian soil. I am sure that my visit will be an important step in the development of Iranian-Azerbaijani relations. I would like to take this opportunity to invite you, Mr President, to make an official visit to Azerbaijan at a time convenient to you. I must also point out that this is my third official visit to Iran. The number of visits in itself is significant. We wish our relations to develop successfully in all spheres and there are excellent opportunities for this right now.

President Rouhani and I met at the beginning of the year in Davos. And today our political dialogue is continuing in Iran. Today we had a broad and frank discussion of various aspects of our bilateral relations.

We have been doing very successful work in international organizations. Our work at the UN, the Islamic Cooperation Organization, the OEC and the Non-Aligned Movement has been very successful.

Iran’s support in resolving our most troublesome problem – the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagornyy Karabakh – is very important. This conflict must be resolved on the basis of the four resolutions of the UN Security Council. Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity must be restored. The position held by the Islamic Republic of Iran on this conflict is based on justice and international law, and we thank them for taking this position.

As you know, the Azerbaijani territories recognized by the international community have been under occupation for many years. As a result of this occupation more than a million Azerbaijanis have found themselves in the situation of refugees and forced migrants in their own land. A policy of ethnic cleansing has been carried out against our people. The Armenians committed the Xocali genocide against Azerbaijanis. All our historical and religious monuments have now been destroyed by the Armenians on the occupied lands. The early settlement of the conflict bases on international law would be of great benefit to the region.

Today we have had an exchange of opinions on cooperation in other spheres. There are excellent opportunities in the economic sphere and in investment. Cooperation in the energy sphere has been successful and the agreement signed today on the construction of the Ordubad and Marazad hydro-electric power stations will strengthen this cooperation even more. There are excellent opportunities for cooperation in the oil and gas sphere. At the same time we shall seek additional ways to strengthen cooperation in the military sphere. Today our opinions regarding possible cooperation in the sphere of high technology and information-communication technology are identical and coincide.

Of course, cooperation in the humanitarian and cultural spheres also has a special meaning. Our history, culture and historical heritage are precious for our peoples. Our peoples have lived and worked together for centuries. Our peoples are linked by deep historical and cultural roots. Today Iranian-Azerbaijani relations are built on a solid base. I am confident that we shall achieve all the goals we have set and with joint efforts we shall elevate Iranian-Azerbaijani relations to an even higher level.

Thank you very much for your attention.

Statement by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani

In the name of God the Compassionate and the Merciful,

I would like to express my gratitude to the President of the Azerbaijani Republic, His Excellency Mr Ilham Aliyev, for his visit and that of his delegation to Iran.

My first meeting with Mr President was held within the context of the Davos forum. As part of this meeting we adopted very important decisions for the future of our relations. At the meetings that took place today in extended format and one-to-one we had exhaustive discussions covering all spheres linked with relations between our countries. Today I would like to say to the dear Iranian people that there are no obstacles to the development of relations between our friendly countries at all levels. The Azerbaijani Republic and the Islamic Republic of Iran are two close neighbours and friendly, fraternal countries worshipping one religion. The good relations between our countries are to the benefit of our peoples.

These relations between our countries are also for the benefit of peace, tranquility and security in the region.

We are of the same opinion in relation to the further development of relations between our two countries in the sphere of oil, petrochemistry, power engineering, water supply and other spheres. As well as the documents signed today, as a result of today’s meeting and the talks we have had, we have laid a broad foundation for a further deepening of the all-round development of our relations. For the development of cultural relations between the peoples of our two countries we have agreed that the necessary steps should be taken to further improve relations between our peoples. We also have identical views on Islam and religion. We are both hostile to the use of Islam as a means for radical actions. In order to preserve stability in our region we have no other way than moderation and the struggle against terrorism. We also exchanged opinions on the negotiations conducted by our countries to determine the legal status of the Caspian Sea and cooperation in this sphere. Both sides believe that the path to adopting a final solution to this question is a short one.

We have identical views on cooperation on an international platform. The esteemed President of the Azerbaijani Republic spoke during the negotiations of his support for the right of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. We are in favour of all conflicts in the region, including the Karabakh conflict, being resolved within the context of the decisions adopted at international level and on the principles of justice. Our position is that the alteration of geographical borders in the region is unacceptable. We need to pool our efforts to ensure that such issues are resolved by peaceful means and by way of negotiation.

I accept with immense pleasure Mr President’s invitation to visit the Azerbaijani Republic. I am confident that I will pay a visit to the friendly and fraternal Azerbaijani Republic within a short convenient time.

I wish both the Iranian and the Azerbaijani people development, happiness and progress.

Thank you.