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Close Military Ties with Azerbaijan Top Priority for Iran

TEHRAN (defapress)- Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri, in a Wednesday meeting with First Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Shahin Mustafayev, underlined that Tehran considers strong military ties with Baku as a top priority.

News ID: 79473

Date: 04 December 2019 - 17:24

“The Islamic Republic regards the solid ties between the two nations and military forces of its priorities,” Major General Baqeri said this morning, during his meeting with Mustafayev in Tehran.

He added that some regional and trans-regional countries cannot tolerate the warm relations between Iran and Republic of Azerbaijan.

Also in the meeting the two sides reviewed various aspects of developing ties, particularly in field of the security and defense.

The Azeri official, for his turn, described the recent visit of General Baqeri to his country as a turning point in expansion of mutual relations which facilitated strengthening of mutual cooperation.

Major General Baqeri had previously paid a two-day visit to Baku upon the official invitation of Azerbaijan’s Minister of Defense Lieutenant General Zakir Hasanov in January 2019 to hold talks with the host country’s defense minister and other military officials, as well as the president, prime minister and parliament speaker of the Eurasian country.

During his stay in Baku, Baqeri signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hasanov to bolster defense cooperation between the two countries.

Baqeri told reporters after signing the agreement that both sides explored ways to bolster bilateral defense ties during the meeting.

He said Iran reiterated its support for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and underlined the need for expanding cooperation in the fields of logistics and training as well as an exchange of military experiences.

Hasanov, for his part, welcomed Baqeri’s visit, saying the two sides discussed “highly important” issues.

The Azeri minister expressed confidence that the visit would further enhance “mutual military cooperation to the highest level”.

He further said Baqeri’s visit provided the opportunity to review the activities of Iran-Azerbaijan Joint Defense Commission, saying necessary recommendation has been made to enhance its performance.

The joint commission held its first meeting in Baku in October 2017, with a high-ranking delegation from Iran’s Defense Ministry in attendance.

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