Iran's foreign policy will remain unchanged-Seyed AbbasMusavi [VIDEO]

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How will Iran's policy change after the election of a new President of the country, and how will it affect relations with Azerbaijan?

In reply to this question the Ambassador stated that the principle of maintaining good-neighborly relations is priority of country's foreign policy.

"Iran borders on 15 countries and maintains good relations with all of them; however, there are ones whose importance is higher and relations therewith are of particular importance. One of these countries is Azerbaijan, "the diplomat emphasized.

Particular emphasis needs to be placed on the fact that Iran's historical ties and cultural proximity with Azerbaijan make factors of good-neighborliness and friendship inevitable. Today's relations between the two countries are illustrative of the importance of preservation and development of these relations.

"As for the formation of Iran's foreign policy, it is formed by a state body called the Supreme Security Council where all the main structures of the country are represented, including executive power, parliament, defense department and other law enforcement agencies, as well as the administration of the Supreme Leader of the country.

It should be recognized that main outlines of our foreign policy are formed there, and the Supreme Security Council is headed by the President of the country. The decisions made are then approved by the Supreme Leader of the country. For this reason, any alterations in the Cabinet do not implicate changes in the basic principles of foreign policy - they remain unchanged.

As for our relations with the Republic of Azerbaijan, there will also be no changes. Moreover, the current geopolitical situation and transport corridors bring the two countries even closer together and strengthen economic cooperation. Hence, the Iranian-Azerbaijani relations are of strategic nature, and this tendency is sure to continue," the Ambassador stressed.

What can be said about Tehran's attitude toward the idea of the" Platform of Six" put forward after the Second Karabakh War and aimed at resolving regional issues with the participation of the South Caucasian countries and regional powers - Russia, Turkey and Iran?

"Iran regards this proposal of President Aliyev as a far-sighted step. This is a very wise proposal to resolve all the issues in the region with the participation of the countries of the region themselves in the 3+3 format. It was no mere coincidence that Iran was the first country to welcome the proposal.

It was clear that the policy of occupation could not last forever and that, sooner or later, this would come to an end. The countries of the region must accept the current situation because it is based on justice. After the liberation of the occupied territories and the proposal to create the 3+3 Platform, it became obvious that the geopolitical situation in the region has changed. Should all the countries of the Platform accept this proposal, we would witness a rampant development of the region. In the course of his trips to the countries of the region, the Iranian Foreign Minister expressed Tehran's readiness to host the participants of the Platform," the Ambassador said.

After the end of the Second Karabakh War, criticism of Azerbaijan was voiced at various levels in Iran largely due to the fact that Iran was dissatisfied with the prospect of opening the Zangezur corridor which is contrary to the interests of Iran. Is that really so?

Answering his question, the Ambassador noted that there might be different views on the subject in Iran.

"The statement of the Supreme Leader of Iran clearly indicates that Iran is against changes of borders but not against the opening of this corridor. I don't think anyone in the region is concordant with changing borders forcibly. We are supportive of operating any corridors, along any routes, without changing the borders of states. The opening of this corridor is a matter of Azerbaijan and Armenia. A violent, forcible adjustment of borders would disrupt stability in the region, and so far, there are no prospects for this.

To my thinking, President Aliyev's proposal to restore railway tracks in the region will contribute to the restoration of ties and cooperation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as other countries of the region. Therefore, the countries of the South Caucasus, as well as Russia, Turkey and Iran, should do their best to encourage the opening of railways, roads and other communications between them," the diplomat noted.

How can the Zangezur corridor be restored if Iran has built the Khudaferin and Gyz Galasy reservoirs on the Araxes River which flooded several kilometers of the railway route between Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan? What is Iran doing to make the construction of a new road possible?

In response to this question, the Ambassador noted that recently the Minister of Roads and Urban Development of Iran together with the Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan visited this region.

"These structures were built during the period when the mentioned territory was under occupation; yet, they were built on the basis of a bilateral agreement with Azerbaijan. To solve this problem (flooding of the railway), a working group has been set up to prepare a technical proposal for connecting the road with the Iranian railway system," the diplomat said, adding that the importance of these water reservoirs is extremely high given the water shortage in the region, and Iran and Azerbaijan jointly use this water for irrigation, as well as electricity generated by hydroelectric power plants.

How can you explain the huge flow of drugs that goes from Iran to Azerbaijan? Nearly every week, we intercept 50 or even 100 kg of heroin, other heavy drugs, as well as drug couriers."

If 50-100 kg of drugs is intercepted on the Azerbaijani side, then on the Iranian side the seized drugs are measured in tons," the Ambassador replied to this question.

"There is a serious struggle against this evil in Iran, and the figures you mentioned are very little as compared to those we intercept. Unfortunately, Iran is on the main drug trafficking route out of Afghanistan. The population of this country does not have much opportunity to earn money, except for cultivation and sales of drugs. At present, Afghanistan is the main producer and exporter of drugs in the world. Unfortunately, some of these drugs are distributed all over the world and through our territory.

It should be recognized that drug couriers on the Iran-Afghanistan border resort to heavy weapons to break into Iran. Note that deaths of our border guards and other security forces in the struggle against drug couriers are not uncommon. We are taking the maximum possible measures to combat drug trafficking on the border with Azerbaijan included," the diplomat said.

After the end of the war in Karabakh, Azerbaijan invited friendly countries to participate in the reconstruction of the liberated areas. Have the Iranian companies accepted this offer, and if so, what are projects they intend to participate in?

"Iran's private and semi-public companies are ready to participate in this work. Our entrepreneurs are seeking to provide moral support rather than gain economic benefits when taking part in the restoration of Karabakh and other territories. Our Supreme Leader said that Karabakh is Azerbaijani land, it had been returned to Azerbaijan, and he added that those who lost in the war were recognized as martyrs.. Therefore, the Iranians are ready to share everything to support Azerbaijan.

Specifically, Iranian companies are ready to take part in the implementation of infrastructure projects, including the construction of roads, bridges, and settlements. Currently, we are waiting for a response from the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan," the Iranian Ambassador said.

How would you comment Armenian side's claims that Iran supports a transport project initiated by India on a transport corridor through Iran to Armenia and further to Europe?

Answering this question, the diplomat stressed that any transport corridors connecting countries are beneficial to the countries of the region but we need to decide between those more profitable.

"Today, the most profitable and realistic is the North-South corridor between Iran and Azerbaijan. The railways of the two countries are already connected and goods from the Persian Gulf through Iran and Azerbaijan can be transported via North to Europe. We do not reject other corridors but we consider the North-South corridor to be most optimal, for it includes three components – railway, road and sea communications. It should be added that the hub of this corridor is the city of Astara where all transport infrastructures converge. A new bridge between the two countries will also be built there following which the transport capacity will essentially increase.

After the restoration of the railway through Nakhchivan and the connection of the railway between the Iranian point of Parsabad and the Azerbaijani Imishli, the volume of traffic will increase significantly. Given all this, I do not think that any other corridor can be an alternative to this," the Ambassador said.

To sum up, he expressed his confidence that under the new President of Iran the bilateral relations between the two countries would decidedly be broadened.

"Ilham Aliyev was one of the first heads of state to congratulate the new President of Iran, and his message stressed that the relations between the two countries have reached a strategic level, and this is very important," Seyed Abbas Mousavi concluded.-0-