“Undoubtedly, because of the vigilance of the nations and governments of Iran and Azerbaijan, they (enemies) cannot harm... the brotherly ties between the two countries,” Ahmadinejad told the visiting secretary of Azerbaijan’s National Security Council Ramiz Mehdiyev on Monday.
He noted that the enemies use ignorant people, media working for the West and the intelligence services affiliated with the United States, Israel and the West to damage relations between nations.
“Today, the nation and government of Azerbaijan are moving on the path of progress and the Islamic Republic supports this trend and considers it beneficial for both nations as well as regional nations,” Ahmadinejad stated.
Mehdiyev said the Republic of Azerbaijan considers the Islamic Republic a friend.
“We have to enhance our cooperation and we have many facilities at our disposal for that purpose,” he added.
Mehdiyev arrived in Tehran on Monday to meet with Iranian officials and discuss the Karabakh dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Both Azerbaijan and Armenia claim the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is largely populated by Armenians but located in Azerbaijan.
Ethnic Armenian forces took control over the enclave which accounts for 16 percent of Azerbaijan in the early 1990s during a six-year war with the country that took place from February 1988 to May 1994.
The conflict left an estimated 30,000 people dead and one million displaced before the two sides agreed to a cease-fire in 1994. However, a peace accord has never been signed and the dispute still remains unsettled.
Iran has on several occasions offered to intervene in the dispute.
