Raisi: Changes in transit routes with Armenia not tolerable

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
13 Oct 2022 18:52
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The Iranian official added while citing Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi that European military presence under any guise is rejected.

Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (Archive)

Raisi’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Political Affairs, Mohammad Jamshidi, said on Thursday that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi opposed any changes to Iran's historical borders in the South Caucasus.

The remarks were delivered during negotiations with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) summit in Kazakhstan.

"President Raisi to president Aliev of Azerbaijan made clear that any change in historical borders, regional geopolitics, and Iran-Armenia transit routes is not tolerable. Also, any European military presence under any guise is rejected. The West can't distract us strategically," Jamshidi tweeted.

President Raisi to president Aliev of Azerbaijan made clear that any change in historical borders, regional geopolitics and Iran-Armenia transit routes is not tolerable. Also any European military presence under any guise is rejected. The West can't distract us strategically.
— Mohammad Jamshidi (@MhmmdJamshidi) October 13, 2022

The military presence that Jamshidi is referring to is one that was agreed upon on October 7 by both Armenia and Azerbaijan to encourage an EU civilian mission along the border.

According to a statement issued by the press office of the Armenian cabinet of ministers, "The mission will begin its work in October for a maximum period of two months."

The Armenian cabinet of ministers clarified that the EU mission's purpose "will be to strengthen confidence and cooperation between the commissions through their reports."

This was part of Yerevan and Baku reaffirming their commitments to documents under which they had recognized each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty, the press office of the Armenian cabinet of ministers said on Friday.

On September 13, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani expressed "Iran's readiness to provide any assistance needed to resolve the disagreements between its two neighbors" after a ceasefire had collapsed right after entering into force.

Kanaani stressed that Iran considers any change to the borders between Azerbaijan and Armenia as "unacceptable".

The sixth CICA summit whose participants include Azerbaijan, Belarus, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Palestine, Russia, Qatar, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan is taking place in the Kazakh capital Astana from Wednesday to Thursday.

During his speech, the Iranian President said that Washington and its allies resorted to a failed policy of destabilizing the Middle East and other regions after their failed military threats and sanctions.

"What has made the Iranian nation successful and scared the hegemony-seeking powers is the Iranian nation's concentration on progress based on its current power," Raisi affirmed, stressing that "in the new redistribution of power, hegemonic approaches are rejected and the voice and role of independent countries are heard and taken into account more."

ℹ️Putin, Erdogan and Raisi among leaders attending CICA Summit in Kazakhstan : Russia's President Vladimir Putin, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iran's Ebrahim Raisi attend the CICA summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, a cooperation forum of 27 Asian countries. An opportunity for pic.twitter.com/YsRGYJFQnl
— 🌐World News 24 🌍🌎🌏 (@DailyWorld24) October 13, 2022