U.S. Interested In Seeing Stable Caucasus Region — State Department On Iran’s Drills On Azerbaijani Border

The U.S. wants to see a stable Caucasus region, the State Department said on Monday.

When asked by TURAN's Washington correspondent about Iran's recently held military exercises on the border amid tensions with Azerbaijan, State Department's spokesperson Ned Price told the daily press briefing: "I don’t have a particular comment on that. Of course we want to see and we have made clear our interest in seeing a stable Caucasus region, a region where we work both with Armenia and Azerbaijan to de-escalate tensions between those two countries and to work to de-escalate any broader tensions that may arise."

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps last week conducted large-scale military drills on its border with Azerbaijan, including practicing crossings of the Aras River, which defines a large part of the border between the two states.

TURAN's correspondent also asked the State Department spokesperson about Tehran's increasingly destabilizing role in the wider region, such as its intention to help Russia's gas sector with 40 turbines, as well as allegedly sending its dron trainers to Belarus.

"Our sanctions remain fully in effect, fully in force. We will take action as appropriate if we see sanctionable activity, whether that’s on the part of Iran, whether that’s on the part of Russia," Price said in response to turbines.

As for the trainers in Belarus, the spokesperson said they are aware of reports but are not in a position to comment on them, that there are Iranian trainers.

"We’ve noted more broadly our great concern about Iranian presence in Russian-occupied Ukraine – in Crimea in particular – and its actions with Russia in this regard, and we’re following these reports very closely," he added.

Price went on to add: "we’re continually working to ensure that the Russian Federation and the Lukashenka regime in Belarus pay a severe price, an economic toll, for Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. With our allies and partners, we have taken actions that target the financial networks and the assets of the Kremlin’s, as well as those belonging to the Lukashenka regime for enabling this Russian posture."

Alex Raufoglu

Washington D.C.