AZERBAIJANI EMBASSY EXPRESSES PROTEST TO IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Sept 26 2006

Azerbaijan’s embassy in Iran expressed an official protest to the
Foreign Ministry in connection with some Iranian businessmen’s
establishing relations with the alleged regime in Nagorno Garabagh
province of Azerbaijan, Ambassador Abbaseli Hasanov told the APA
exclusively.

He said Armenia is cheating foreign businessmen into taking them to
the occupied Azerbaijani territories in order to change the negative
international opinion on the regime functioning in Nagorno Garabagh.

"They try to convince businessmen that foreign capital is guaranteed
by the government of this regime," the ambassador underlined.

Mr.Abbasov said some Iranian tradesmen believe this propaganda and
go to Armenia and Garabagh, "Iranian businessmen attended the events
organized in the Armenian-occupied lands of Azerbaijan. They agreed
to hold Iranian industry and trade exhibition in Nagorno Garabagh in
future. I was at Iranian Foreign Ministry and expressed Azerbaijan’s
official position related to this. The Ministry tried to assure us
that the Iranian government has nothing to do with this matter and
that it is not keen in Iranian businessmen convinced by Armenians
engaging in trade in the occupied Azerbaijani territories."