Iranian Foreign Minister says ready to visit Yerevan, Baku

PanARMENIAN.Net - Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian is ready to visit Yerevan and Baku as a gesture of good neighborliness, Amirabdollahian himself said in an interview with the Russia-24 TV channel.

According to Amirabdollahian, the development of relations with neighboring countries is among the main priorities of the new Iranian government.

"Azerbaijan and Armenia are our good neighbors, and we cannot work with one of them against the other. Our foreign policy is balanced. Two days ago, my colleague, the Armenian Foreign Minister, came to Tehran. It would be nice if our Azerbaijani colleagues had the opportunity to visit Iran too," Abdollahiyan said.

The Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic stressed that he will visit the capitals of Armenia and Azerbaijan as soon as such an opportunity presents itself.

Tension has been high between Iran and Azerbaijan, which share a 700km (430 mile) border, since mid-September. Iran’s army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have recently mobilised forces and held military drills close to its northwestern borders with Azerbaijan amid lingering tensions following Azerbaijan’s 44-day war with Armenia last year. Azerbaijan and Turkey, in response, launched a joint military drill starting on Wednesday.