NAXCIVAN LEADER VISITS IRAN

Fars News Agency
July 15 2008
Iran

The chairman of the Supreme Council of the Naxcivan Autonomous
Republic, Vasif Talibov, arrived in Iran Sunday evening at the head
of a high-ranking delegation.

Upon arrival via the Jolfa border checkpoint, the chairman of the
Supreme Council of the Naxcivan Autonomous Republic was welcomed by
the governor of Jolfa and other local officials.

Jolfa District with a population of 51,000, is situated 146 km
northwest of Tabriz, the capital city of East Azarbaijan province,
and borders with the Naxcivan Autonomous Republic and the Republic
of Armenia.

Talibov told reporters that he was visiting Iran at the invitation of
the Iranian Foreign Ministry officials, and that he was due to meet
with the governor-general of East Azarbaijan province in Tabriz as
well as senior officials in Tehran to explore ways to expand bilateral
relations, the Islamic republic news agency reported.

The Naxcivan Autonomous Republic has a population of 360,000 and is
located 35 km north of Iran’s Jolfa border.

About 96 per cent of the population in this region of the Azerbaijani
Republic are Azerbaijanis, the rest are Russians and Tatars and 1.1
per cent of its population are of Kurdish origin.

The roads and railways of the republic had been closed by the Republic
of Armenia following the war between the Azerbaijan and Armenia over
Nagorno Karabakh.

Talibov is being accompanied by a number of high-ranking Azerbaijani
officials, including the consul-general of the Azerbaijani Republic
in Tabriz.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress