TEHRAN – The top diplomats of Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan held a phone conversation on Saturday morning in which they discussed bilateral relations. 

According to a Fars News report, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Jeyhun Bayramov, exchanged views on the latest about Tehran-Baku relations.

In this call, the Iranian foreign minister reiterated Iran's opposition to the presence of foreign countries in the Caucasus region, underlining that the problems of the region can be solved by the countries of this region. 

The last time Amir Abdollahian and Bayramov spoke over the phone was in mid-November when the Iranian foreign minister expressed dissatisfaction with some “unrealistic” remarks by Azerbaijani officials.

In the November conversation, Amir Abdollahian “voiced dissatisfaction with some unrealistic statements made in recent days, describing respect for countries’ sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as non-interference in their domestic affairs as an important and fundamental principle.”

“He said that official and diplomatic channels are the best path for resolving misunderstandings and differences, emphasizing that bringing up such issues in media will not only fail to help their settlement but pave the way for enemies to exploit them,” according to a statement by the Iranian foreign ministry. 

The Iranian foreign minister said the expansion of ties with neighbors including the Azerbaijan Republic is a priority of the Islamic Republic’s foreign policy agenda, stressing the necessity to promote all-out ties between the two countries.

He invited his Azeri counterpart to join the Iranian initiative for an event, named the 3+3 meeting, in Tehran as a format designed to resolve regional issues through diplomatic ways.

For his part, the Azeri foreign minister pointed to a recent meeting between the presidents of the two countries in Astana, describing the talks and contacts between officials in Tehran and Baku as positive.

Jeyhun Bayramov expressed Azerbaijan Republic’s readiness to enhance ties with Iran and resolve misunderstandings.

The two sides also stressed the necessity to continue and promote links between different sectors and institutions of the two countries in order to enhance friendly relations and settle possible misunderstandings.