AZERTAC - �Iran considers the security and development of Azerbaijan as its own security and development,� said Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif as he met with a delegation led by Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov, who is on an official visit in the country.





FM Zarif expressed Iran�s keenness to develop comprehensive relationship with Azerbaijan. He said it is necessary to speed up the projects under consideration in order to develop bilateral ties between the two countries.

He underlined that the statements made by the Chief of the General Staff of Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri during his visit to Azerbaijan represent the official position of Iran. Minister Javad Zarif emphasized that his country stands for the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by peaceful means and negotiations based on the principles of territorial integrity and inviolability of borders.

The sides exchanged views over various issues on bilateral agenda, including the development of relations in the spheres of tourism and culture, cooperation within regional and international organizations, widening of cooperation within UNESCO and etc.

Taking into account that Azerbaijan is going to host the Summit of the heads of states and governments of the Non-Aligned Movement this year, the Ministers discussed the gathering of the foreign ministers prior to the Summit.

Stressing the importance of ensuring peace and security in the region Minister Elmar Mammadyarov underlined the soonest settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in this regard, and informed his counterpart on the current situation of the negotiations process. The significance of the settlement of the conflict for achieving peace, security, sustainable development and prosperity in the region was emphasized.