AZE.US
President Ilham Aliyev said Azerbaijan stood with Iran during its difficult days, as he received a delegation led by Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of Iran’s Islamic Consultative Assembly, in Baku on June 24.
Aliyev said the Iranian people had suffered greatly in recent weeks and again expressed condolences over those killed during the war.
The Azerbaijani president said the people and state of Azerbaijan were alongside the people and state of Iran during the conflict. He pointed to his phone conversations with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, as well as contacts at different levels, as clear examples of solidarity.
Aliyev said Azerbaijan welcomed the end of the war and recalled that Baku immediately issued an official statement on the matter.
“I wish there would be no war in the region,” Aliyev said, noting that both Azerbaijan and Iran had suffered from wars in the past.
The president also said Ghalibaf’s visit provided a good opportunity to discuss the bilateral agenda between Baku and Tehran. He noted the successful development of Azerbaijan-Iran relations and said the 20th session of the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States in Baku would contribute to strengthening Islamic solidarity.
Aliyev also said Azerbaijan will host the OIC summit next year and that preparations for the event have already begun.
Ghalibaf, for his part, conveyed greetings from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to Aliyev. The Azerbaijani president thanked him and asked Ghalibaf to convey his own greetings to the Iranian leader.
The Iranian parliament speaker thanked Aliyev, the Azerbaijani state and the Azerbaijani people for their support during Iran’s difficult days.
According to the statement, Ghalibaf also thanked Aliyev for visiting the Iranian Embassy in Baku to offer condolences over the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and a number of civilians, as well as for sending a congratulatory letter to Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei on his election as Iran’s supreme leader.
Ghalibaf said war is a great tragedy and stressed that Azerbaijan remained committed to good-neighborly relations with Iran during that period. He said Baku provided humanitarian support and that the Azerbaijani people stood with Iran.
“This will remain forever in the memory of the Iranian people,” Ghalibaf said.
He added that Iran saw during the war who its friends and enemies were, and that Azerbaijan acted as a friendly country by standing with Iran.
The sides expressed confidence that Azerbaijan-Iran relations would continue to develop dynamically.
They also welcomed the completion of the Aghband-Kalaleh bridge and noted that the Araz corridor through Iranian territory would help expand transport opportunities in the region.
The meeting also covered prospects for bilateral relations, interparliamentary cooperation and the work of the intergovernmental commission.
AZE.US