YEREVAN (Azatutyun) — Following Russia’s renewed criticism of Armenia’s reluctance to open a land corridor for Azerbaijan, Iran has reportedly reaffirmed its strong opposition to “geopolitical changes” in the South Caucasus.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said on September 3 that the head of its Eurasia Directorate, Mojtaba Demirchiloo, discussed with the Russian ambassador in Tehran, Alexei Dedov, “his views on the ongoing developments in the Caucasus.”
A ministry statement cited Demirchiloo as telling Dedov that “Tehran is against any change in the internationally recognized borders and geopolitical changes in the region.”
“The Iranian diplomat also stressed the need to take into consideration the legitimate concerns and interests of all countries in the region,” added the statement.
Demirchiloo met with Dedov two weeks after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the Armenian government of “sabotaging” a Russian-brokered agreement to open transport links between Azerbaijan and its Nakhichevan exclave through Armenia’s Syunik province.
The accusation sparked a fresh war of words between Moscow and Yerevan that added to heightened tensions between the two estranged allies. Lavrov repeated it on Monday.
