Envoy rejects anti-Iran remarks voiced at Azeris conference
IRNA website, Tehran
18 Mar 06
Baku, 18 March: Iran’s Ambassador to Baku Afshar Soleymani said here
Saturday [18 March] that the remarks of some anti-Iran individuals
at the second conference of the world Azeris is not to the interest
of bilateral relations.
Speaking to reporters, he dismissed the comments voiced against Iran
in an official meeting.
The Iranian diplomat said, “Such measures are not to the interest of
Azerbaijan, and will be detrimental to mutual ties.”
Warning against the irreparable losses which will be inflicted by
such moves if they are not prevented, he noted that such conferences,
during which comments against Iran are made, cannot be officially
recognized by the Iranian government.
He regretted that such remarks were voiced at an official conference in
Azerbaijan, despite the recent visit of President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad
to Naxcivan and his meeting with President Ilham Aliyev, which resulted
in signing several cooperation agreements and the beginning of gas
transfer from Iran to the Naxcivan Autonomous Republic.
“This is while since Azerbaijan’s independence Iran has always helped
it to strengthen its sovereignty. Besides the 70-million Iranian
nation and government have always supported this country,” he added.
He pointed to the historical, cultural and spiritual commonalties of
the two states as a good asset to be used to strengthen mutual ties.
Soleymani urged that Iran and Azerbaijan should use their spiritual
and religious commonalties to bolster mutual ties in various domains
without interfering in each other’s internal affairs.
Turning to Iran’s assistance to Azerbaijan in solving its problems
such as the difficulties facing the homeless and needy Azeri people,
setting up tents and refugee camps for the war victims during the
Karabakh conflict, he said that such approaches are unjustified.
In response to a question whether the US and Israel’s security services
took part in such measures, he said that they attempt overtly to
damage Iran-Azerbaijan relations in every possible way from.
Stressing that their hostile measures cannot be effective, he said
that mutual relations will further broaden according to the will of
the government and people of both states.
In an official meeting in Azerbaijan on Thursday, some hostile parties
brought up false and baseless issues against Iran leading to objections
by Iran’s embassy in Baku.