President of Azerbaijan Republic Ilham Aliyev arrived in Tehran Wednesday morning to hold talks with senior Iranian officials. The visit is taking place at the invitation of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani officially welcomes Azeri counterpart

President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday officially welcomed his visiting Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev at Tehran’s Saadabad Historical Cultural Complex.

During the visit, the two presidents will discuss issues of mutual interest as well as the latest regional and international developments.

Tehran, Baku sign 4 papers on bilateral cooperation

Iran and Azerbaijan Republic signed three letters of understanding and an agreement on Wednesday for bilateal cooperation in sport, energy and road construction fields.

The documents were signed in the presence of President Hassan Rouhani and his visiting Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev at Saadabad Historical Cultural Complex.

Iran-Azerbaijanˈs letter of understanding for sport cooperation was signed by Iranian Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Mahmoud Goudarzi and Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

The second document was inked by the Azeri foreign minister and Iranˈs Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli for Tehran-Baku cooperation on dealing with unexpected incidents.

A third paper was also signed between the two countries for urban development and road construction. it was inked by Azerbaijani Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Huseyn Bagirov and Iranˈs Minister of Roads and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi.

Meanwhile, an agreement was also singed between the two capitals for constructing two hydroelectric power plants in Azerbaijan.

The agreement was signed by Azerbaijanˈs Minister of Economy and Industry Shahin Mustafayev and Iranian Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian.

President Aliyev hails Tehran stance on Karabakh

Ilham Aliyev praised Tehranˈs fair stance on Karabakh issue. Speaking in a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani, the Azeri president said Baku attaches great importance to Tehranˈs support for the issue of Karabakh.

Karabakh is a geographic region in southwestern Azerbaijan internationally recognized as part of that country. Since the end of the Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1994, representatives of the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group on the regionˈs disputed status.

The Nagorno-Karabakh dispute flared up in 1988, when the region’s predominantly ethnic Armenian population began large-scale protests against Azerbaijani rule, seeking first to become part of Armenia and later declaring independence. A war ensued in the early 1990s, ending in 1994 with a shaky ceasefire that failed to resolve the conflict.

Azerbaijan insists on control over Nagorno-Karabakh to maintain its territorial integrity.

President Aliyev said that Tehranˈs approach towards the Karabakh issue was fair and well-founded.

Earlier in the day, President Rouhani voiced Tehranˈs readiness to help solve regional problems including that of the Karabakh region within the frameworks of international laws and justice.

defence.pk