AZE.US
Azerbaijani political analyst Farhad Mammadov has criticized remarks by Iran’s ambassador to Armenia, who expressed disappointment that the presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey did not personally attend the funeral of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
As AZE.US reports, Mammadov, chairman of the South Caucasus Research Center, said the level of Azerbaijan’s representation reflected the historical record of relations between the two countries.
Iranian Ambassador to Armenia Khalil Shirgholami said at a press conference in Yerevan that Tehran had expected Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to attend the ceremony.
“As an Iranian citizen, I can say that we expected the personal participation of Aliyev and Erdogan. Turkey and Azerbaijan sent delegations, but this fact will nevertheless remain in historical memory,” the diplomat said.
Azerbaijan was represented at the ceremony by Speaker of Parliament Sahiba Gafarova, while Turkey sent a delegation headed by Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz.
Responding to the ambassador, Mammadov recalled that Iran was represented by a vice president at the funeral of Azerbaijan’s national leader Heydar Aliyev in 2003.
“That is roughly the level of a deputy prime minister. Therefore, Mr. Shirgholami, Azerbaijan’s level of participation in the funeral of Iran’s former leader is a result of our historical memory,” Mammadov wrote on his Telegram channel, MneniyeFM.
He added that the absence of Iran’s current supreme leader from the funeral of his predecessor and father would also remain part of that historical record.
“The Iranian ambassador to Armenia should think carefully before allowing himself to mention the presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey in such a manner,” Mammadov said.
Shirgholami acknowledged that each country had independently decided at what level it would be represented. He said Erdogan’s absence was linked to preparations for a NATO summit in Ankara.
AZE.US