Iran Press/ commentary: This trip's main topic is the discussion of regional cooperation, which is of special importance in the current situation.
Then, Zarif will leave Baku for Moscow to meet with Russian officials, and in the coming days, he will also visit Armenia, Georgia, and possibly Turkey.
The countries of destination of this trip have very close bilateral relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran and at the same time have a strategic partnership with Iran in regional cooperation. The Republic of Azerbaijan is also part of this regional and economic connection. For this reason, bilateral and regional issues are among the topics discussed during today's meetings between the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov and the Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev.
The Islamic Republic of Iran's regional policy is defined based on regional cooperation and convergence. Accordingly, Iran wants the region's countries' cooperation and participation in joint economic and security plans. From this point of view, Zarif's regional trip, and specifically his visit to Baku, is important in three aspects:
The first aspect of this trip's importance is the time and the new regional situation after the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Facing the crises imposed on the region, the Islamic Republic of Iran has tried to help resolve the crisis through political measures. Since the beginning of this conflict, the Islamic Republic of Iran's policy has resolved disputes through diplomacy and dialogue. Now the Karabakh conflict is over and the region is relatively calm, this change will affect the regional equation.
In the current situation, the region's countries need dialogue and cooperation and confidence-building methods rather than coalition building for war. The importance of developing strategic cooperation between Tehran and Baku can also be assessed in this context.
The second aspect of the talks between Tehran and Baku officials in this trip is developing relations at the regional level. Distinguished position of the two countries in the Caspian and Caucasus basins and the connection of the two countries through the north-south transit corridor; The need for cooperation between Tehran and Baku in developing this important transit axis has been raised to a strategic level. The North-South transport corridor has played an increasingly close role in Russia-Azerbaijan-Iran relations. The Rasht-Astara railway construction has been implemented with Iran's participation and the Republic of Azerbaijan to complete this communication chain.
The third aspect of Zarif's trip to Baku; Creating new opportunities for cooperation in the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea.
"Afshar Soleimani," a political expert in the Caucasus, believes in the importance of cooperation between Tehran and Baku, saying :
"Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan have geopolitical and geo-economic capacities together, which together can form good capacities and lead to the formation of new strategic cooperation."
In general, it can be said that the issues targeted during Zarif's visit to Baku show the priorities of Iran's regional diplomacy in the economic-political fields and the concern for collective security, which shows the importance of this meeting. It is expected that during the talks between the two countries, new steps will be taken to develop bilateral relations and strengthen multilateral cooperation in the region.
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