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Leader calls for Tehran-Baku cooperation on Caspian |
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Tehran, May 19, IRNA -- Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei here Sunday highlighted "deep-rooted historical and ideological bonds" between Iran and neighboring Azerbaijan in a meeting with visiting Azeri President Heydar Aliyev and called on the two countries to cooperate on the Caspian dispute. The Leader also stressed that the issue of the Caspian Sea should be solved by the littoral states of the in-land sea without the interference of outsiders. "Some international big powers are opposed to the resolving of regional disputes including those on the Caspian Sea," Ayatollah Khamenei said. The Leader warned against the presence of the US and the racist Israeli regime in the region, saying their objectives were contrary to the interests of the regional nations. "The massive human tragedy in Palestine is an obvious example of moves against public interests, which are carried out by the Zionist regime under full support of the United States," he said. "The issue of the Caspian Sea, if looked at logically and properly, is solvable and this requires the efforts of the regional countries," the Leader said. "Iran and Azerbaijan should cooperate to bring this issue to a final settlement," he added. Cooperation among regional countries, with enormous commonalties, is the key to the materialization of their interests, Ayatollah Khamenei said. He reiterated Iran's call on Azerbaijan and Armenia to settle their dispute on Nagorno-Karabakh through dialogue. Aliyev described Iran as "a friendly and powerful neighbour" to Azerbaijan, saying Baku's policies are based on expanding relations with Tehran. He called his talks with President Mohammad Khatami as "good and successful." A plan to link Azerbaijan to northern Iran and then to the southern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas on the Persian Gulf via a railroad as well as the Baku-Astara road are among important programs for the two countries to expand their ties, Aliyev added. The Azeri president pointed to a Caspian summit, held last month in the Turkmen capital Ashkhabad, saying "like Iran, the Republic of Azerbaijan believes that the Caspian should remain a sea of peace, security, understanding and cooperation." Aliyev also thanked the Islamic Republic's assistance to Azeri people and asked for Iranian help on the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. "We believe that this dispute must be resolved through dialogue with the participation of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said. |
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