By Syed Zafar Mehdi
TEHRAN (AA) - Iran’s top general said Saturday that Azerbaijan has succeeded in reclaiming lost land and restoring territorial integrity.
Chief of Staff of the Iranian armed forces, Mohammad Baqeri, commented on recent developments in the Caucasus region as he spoke at a leading military university in Tehran and described Iran’s relations with neighboring countries.
“What Azerbaijan has done so far is to regain its territorial integrity,” he said, referring to Baku’s “counter-terrorism” operation in Karabakh last month in the wake of Armenian provocations.
Bagheri said Azerbaijan was able to gain complete territorial integrity and minorities in the region “should live peacefully and with equal rights as other citizens.”
He said Azerbaijan and Armenia are “respectful neighbors” for Tehran and “maintaining the issue of territorial integrity and borders” had been discussed in meetings with officials from the two countries.
The general urged the two estranged neighbors to end hostilities, while emphasizing that the “presence of foreign forces” in the region must end.
Bagheri said he had discussed with Azerbaijan and Armenia military officials who “believe the presence of foreign military is not needed to maintain regional security.”
Iran wants to transform the borders from military and security to economic borders in line with Ebrahim Raisi government’s “good-neighborliness” policy, he said.
Earlier this week, two senior officials from Armenia and Azerbaijan visited Tehran and held meetings with Iranian officials, including Bagheri.
In a meeting Wednesday with the Armenian National Security Advisor Armen Grigoryan, Bagheri said the presence of “extra-regional forces” is detrimental to security in the region.
Khalaf Khalafov, a veteran Azerbaijani diplomat and special aide to Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, was also in Tehran for talks with Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
In his meeting with Khalafov, Raisi deemed it necessary to improve relations between Tehran and Baku and to “counter the plots designed to sow discord” between the two countries, according to his office.
Iran considers Karabakh part of the Republic of Azerbaijan and believes that issues related to its residents should be resolved through dialogue, according to Iran’s foreign ministry.