TEHRAN- Trilateral discussions between the parliament speakers of Iran, Turkey, and the Azerbaijan Republic took place on Monday in Antalya, Turkey.

Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf of Iran’s meeting with Mustafa Sentop of Turkey, and Sahiba Gafarova of Azerbaijan took place on the sidelines of plenary session of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA).

They talked about important regional concerns in an effort to improve political and economic ties.

The deputy speaker of the Iraqi parliament and the Iranian parliament speaker also met separately earlier on Monday.

Iran insists it won’t tolerate change in geopolitical borders

Iran's senior lawmaker stated that his country will never tolerate any geopolitical changes to boundaries in the Caucasus region and opposes any extra-regional intervention in the region.

Qalibaf made the comment during a meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart.

"The neighboring country of Azerbaijan has special condition from the Islamic Republic of Iran's viewpoint... and the two countries seek to deepen their relations," the Iranian parliament speaker said
in reference to the significance of Tehran-Baku relations in various political, economic, and parliamentary fields.

He added, “We can have good relations at regional and global levels. The closer regional countries get to each other, the better it would be for the region and no extra-regional countries should be allowed to interfere in this regard.”

“We do not tolerate any geopolitical alteration in regional borders,” he noted.

The top Iranian lawmaker also told his Azeri counterpart that parliamentary interactions can play a great role in developing relations between the two neighbors.

Gafarova, for her part, urged greater international collaboration between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan.

She said that in addition to geography and proximity at the borders, other aspects that bind “our two Muslim nations” together include the fact that many Iranians speak Azeri.

The Azeri official reiterated that his country desires regional stability and advocates peace and security.

The Asian Parliamentary Assembly is regarded as one of the most significant organizations in Asia which is set up to help advancement of multilateralism.

Turkey hosted the assembly between January 9 and 10, with seven countries participating at the level of speaker and four countries at the level of deputy speaker.

‘Misunderstandings with Azerbaijan cleared up’

Qalibaf who returned to Tehran on Tuesday told reporters that the misunderstandings between Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan have been cleared up, adding he plans to visit Baku in the future.

The Parliament speaker said also said the APA summit, which was held through video conference in the past three years, was attended by 44 parliamentary delegations at different levels from Asian countries.