Talibov: Azerbaijan, Nakhichevan's friendship with Iran

Speaker of Nakichevan's Supreme Council Vasif Talibov in a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi underlined Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan's enthusiasm for the further development of ties and friendship with Tehran. "The Republic of Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan have always been Iran's friends and will remain so and no one can impair this friendship and brotherhood," Talibov said in the meeting on the sidelines of a tripartite meeting among the foreign ministers of Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan in Nakhichevan on Wednesday. Salehi, for his part, expressed the hope that the tripartite meeting among the three sides will be a good base for the further regional cooperation. The Iranian foreign minister arrived in the Azeri city of Nakhichevan on Wednesday morning in a bid to take part in a meeting with his Azerbaijani and Turkish counterparts. During the meeting, Salehi, Elmar Mammadyarov and Ahmet Davutoglu will discuss ways to expand the tripartite cooperation of the countries in the fields of energy, transportation and trade as well as a joint campaign against terrorism, smuggling and organized crime. The first tripartite meeting among the foreign ministers of Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan was held in the Northwestern Iranian city of Orumiyeh in April 2011. The final statement signed at the end of their first trilateral meeting underlined the excellent relations among the three countries and described their common culture and civilization as a good basis for the further reinvigoration of their ties. The three ministers underscored in the statement that regional cooperation and respecting countries' territorial integrity and national borders will have positive effects on the peaceful resolution of regional conflicts. The three top diplomats also stressed the importance of justice in regulating international relations and full respect for all countries' right of access to development, science and technology, including civilian nuclear technology within the framework of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), without any discrimination. Tehran and other countries of the region and the world have always criticized the double-standard policies adopted by the world powers on Iran and other countries' right of access to the peaceful nuclear technology.