Iranian Parliament calls for takeover of Nakhchivan

Baku/15.11.22/Turan: A group of Iranian MPs harshly reacted to the statements of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the 9th summit of Turkic States on the linguistic rights of Azerbaijanis living outside Azerbaijan.

On November 14, MP Seyyed Alborz Hosseini reminded the President of Azerbaijan about the fact that the Republic of Azerbaijan was a part of Iran, the territory of Northern Azerbaijan was separated from Iran in accordance with the Gulustan Treaty, the "Tehran Times" newspaper reported.

"The President of Azerbaijan made remarks about the territories populated by Turks. I suggest that he read the Gulistan Treaty to understand which territory was separated from which territory. Such a statement about the territorial integrity of states is not befitting the President of Azerbaijan," Hosseini said.

He called Aliyev's remarks unrealistic as saying that Azerbaijan would have been a part of Iran if not for the Gulistan Treaty. The MP called on the Iranian Foreign Ministry and Majlis to respond to the remarks.

Ali Nikzad remarked that "a grandson cannot deny his grandfather" and that the Azerbaijani President's remarks were unfounded.

MP Mohammad Reza Mirtajuddini called for the annexation of Nakhchivan. He said Aliyev had made remarks beyond his capabilities and accused the Azerbaijani President of ignorance of the history. Addressing Aliyev, the MP said: "Note that Azerbaijan was separated from Iran, not vice versa."

The Iranian MPs' remarks came in response to Aliyev's statement during the 9th summit of the Organisation of Turkic States.

"The Turkic world does not consist only of independent Turkic states, its geographical boundaries are wider. I believe it is time to constantly keep in mind within the organisation such issues as preventing assimilation and protecting the rights, security and national identity of our compatriots living outside the countries that are members of the Organisation of Turkic States," Aliyev said.

"The young generation of the Turkic world should be able to study in their mother tongue in their countries of residence. Unfortunately, most of the 40 million Azerbaijanis living outside Azerbaijan are deprived of these opportunities. Education of our compatriots living outside the Turkic states in their native language should always be on the agenda of the organisation. Necessary steps should be taken in this direction."

He added: "The Azerbaijani state pays special attention to protecting the rights, freedoms and security of Azerbaijanis living abroad. We will continue our efforts to ensure that our compatriots, who were separated from the Azerbaijani state due to the bitter fate, preserve our language, traditions and culture, remain loyal to the ideas of Azerbaijanism and never sever ties with their historical homeland".

It ought to noted that tensions between Azerbaijan and Iran have led to calls by Ambassadors to the Foreign Ministries of the countries to which they are accredited, with notes on the inadmissibility of unfriendly publications in neighbouring countries.

However, in a telephone conversation between Foreign Ministers Jeyhun Bayramov and Husein Amir Abdullahian yesterday the Foreign Ministers stressed the need to address concerns over public rhetoric and other existing problems within a framework of dialogue and mutual understanding. The usefulness of establishing communication between the spokespersons of the Foreign Ministries was noted.-0-