Trilateral cooperation of Iran, Russia, Baku to open up region’s economic capacity

/By Azernews/

By Aynur Karimova

The first trilateral meeting of foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran was of significant importance for all the three countries taking into account the importance of issues discussed by Elmar Mammadyarov, Sergey Lavrov and Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Baku hosted the first trilateral meeting of foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran on April 7, where the three countries discussed both political and economic issues, as well as recent developments in the region.

Azerbaijani MP, Rovshan Rzayev believes that the North-South transport corridor project, which was among the discussed issues, will contribute to development of economy and to ensuring security in the region.

"I believe that after this meeting a new stage of cooperation will begin among Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran," he told Trend, adding that this meeting will also contribute to strengthening of political relations among Baku, Moscow and Tehran.

Rzayev said that this trilateral meeting of the top diplomats of Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran may also have an impact on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"Azerbaijan enjoys good relations with both Russia and Iran. I believe that the two countries can play a greater role in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," he added.

The meeting is believed to open a new page in the history of regional cooperation and would contribute to the strengthening of peace and stability in the region.

Political analyst Arzu Nagiyev said that the Baku meeting is a logical continuation of agreements reached between Baku and Tehran during President Ilham Aliyev's visit to Iran.

He also assured that this meeting will give an impetus to the development of cooperation and ensuring security in the region.

"After the lifting of international sanctions imposed against Iran, the development of cooperation serves for the interests of all the three countries," the expert noted. "One of the main topics of discussions was the North-South transport corridor project. This project enjoys a significant importance for cargo transportation sectors of Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran."

Nagiyev believes that after the April 7 meeting of Mammadyarov, Lavrov and Zarif, Armenia, which tried to prevent the implementation of this project, remained aside from it.

"This is natural, because the main condition for the implementation of this project is to provide security. Due to the fact that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict still remains unresolved and Yerevan prevents the conflict resolution under the condition of territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, then Armenia fails to guarantee the security," he stated.

The North-South corridor, from India to Helsinki, with a length of 5,000 kilometers is designed to carry more than 20 million tons per year. It is a multimodal route for transportation of passengers and cargo from Russia's St. Petersburg to the Mumbai port. It is designed to carry transit cargo from India, Iran and other Persian Gulf countries to the territory of Russia (the Caspian Sea) and further - to Northern and Western Europe.

Commenting on the results of the meeting, MP Fazil Agamali considers this meeting as the final stage of intense talks on the North-South transport corridor project.

"I think that the parties have reached a decision on the upcoming tasks, because there are no major differences of opinions. Under the agreement, Russia will get an access to Iran, and from there - a direct access to the two seas. This is a very important issue for Russia. Iran has also wished to have a high level of relations with Russia. The North-South transport corridor is passing through Azerbaijan; therefore, the implementation of this project is not possible without Azerbaijan. This project will bring tangible dividends to Azerbaijan," he added.

The MP believes that all the discussed during the ministerial meetings are very important for Azerbaijan.