News - Iran defense minister to Armenia counterpart: Regional security should be maintained by countries of the region

Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani and his Armenian counterpart Suren Papikyan held a meeting in Tehran on Wednesday to discuss the issues related to regional security, Mehr reports. Strengthening relations with all neighbors is one of the principles of the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ashtiani said, adding that  Iran attaches great importance to its relations with Armenia. The relations between the two countries in different areas have always been on a growing track since the independence of Armenia, he added. The Iranian minister expressed Iran's support for regional peace and cited, "The decisive position of the Islamic Republic of Iran is to support the territorial integrity of the countries of the region and their right to sovereignty over their entire territory and not to change the internationally recognized borders." He further stressed that regarding the Caucasus region, Iran will remain adherent to this policy and will back direct negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Regarding the security of the region, he said that regional security should be maintained by the countries of the region and any approach contrary to this policy is not acceptable in any way. Suren Papikyan, for his part, said, "It is very important for us that both countries have the same attitude on stability in the region." Also, he called for bringing the bilateral relations between Tehran and Yerevan closer.