Baku and Tehran strengthen military cooperation in Caspian Sea

Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan has arrived in Baku, primarily in order to discuss security issues in the Caspian region and cooperation between Azerbaijan and Iran in the fight against drug trafficking and piracy, military experts said in interviews with Vestnik Kavkaza.Military expert Uzeir Jafarov said that Hossein Dehghan is making his visit in response to Zakir Hasanov's visit to Tehran. "The meeting between the ministers has already taken place, talks with the Minister of the Defense Industry, Yaver Jamalov, are next and later – with President Ilham Aliyev," he said.According to Jafarov, Iran is also interested in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and cooperation with Azerbaijan in the defense industry. "Iran has a desire to assist the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Azerbaijan has never been against it, but, given the fact that the OSCE Minsk Group has not yet been able to resolve this issue, it is doubtful that Iran could move the question off the dead center. Tehran is interested in expanding cooperation with the Ministry of the Defense Industry, which has reached great results in a short time, and wishes to produce jointly with Baku military products in regional, state and other areas," the expert said."I think that this visit will lay a new foundation for further cooperation between Azerbaijan and Iran. Questions about the role of the US in the Caspian Sea and regional issues will likely be discussed. But these are purely bilateral relations, just as Azerbaijan and Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia, America, France and other countries have," Jafarov concluded.Earlier, Hossein Dehghan told Vestnik Kavkaza that Iran attaches great importance to the development of cooperation with Russia. "You know, we think that our cooperation with such a large and powerful country as Russia is important. And I want to say that stability and security in the region is an important principle for us. It seems to me that we should include on the agenda holding ongoing consultations to analyze the situation, and monitoring possible crises. I think that this cooperation will lead to stability and security in the region," the minister said.

Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan has arrived in Baku, primarily in order to discuss security issues in the Caspian region and cooperation between Azerbaijan and Iran in the fight against drug trafficking and piracy, military experts said in interviews with Vestnik Kavkaza.

Military expert Uzeir Jafarov said that Hossein Dehghan is making his visit in response to Zakir Hasanov's visit to Tehran. "The meeting between the ministers has already taken place, talks with the Minister of the Defense Industry, Yaver Jamalov, are next and later – with President Ilham Aliyev," he said.

According to Jafarov, Iran is also interested in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and cooperation with Azerbaijan in the defense industry. "Iran has a desire to assist the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Azerbaijan has never been against it, but, given the fact that the OSCE Minsk Group has not yet been able to resolve this issue, it is doubtful that Iran could move the question off the dead center. Tehran is interested in expanding cooperation with the Ministry of the Defense Industry, which has reached great results in a short time, and wishes to produce jointly with Baku military products in regional, state and other areas," the expert said.

"I think that this visit will lay a new foundation for further cooperation between Azerbaijan and Iran. Questions about the role of the US in the Caspian Sea and regional issues will likely be discussed. But these are purely bilateral relations, just as Azerbaijan and Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia, America, France and other countries have," Jafarov concluded.

Earlier, Hossein Dehghan told Vestnik Kavkaza that Iran attaches great importance to the development of cooperation with Russia. "You know, we think that our cooperation with such a large and powerful country as Russia is important. And I want to say that stability and security in the region is an important principle for us. It seems to me that we should include on the agenda holding ongoing consultations to analyze the situation, and monitoring possible crises. I think that this cooperation will lead to stability and security in the region," the minister said.