Iran wants to develop military cooperation with neighboring Azerbaijan, Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani said after meeting his Azeri counterpart

Iran wants to develop military cooperation with neighboring Azerbaijan, Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani said after meeting his Azeri counterpart Safar Abbiyev late Wednesday. "There are possibilities of developing our relations in the defense domain," he said. "Azerbaijan's security is our security. Our defense potential is yours." For his part, Abbiyev hoped that Iran, as a friend of Azerbaijan, would help in finding a solution to the problem of Nagorny-Karabakh, the disputed enclave that has pitted Baku against Armenia. The Azeri minister was invited to visit Tehran. The defense ministry said consultations on military cooperation between the two countries' would continue. "I sincerely hope defense cooperation between our two countries would expand to an unprecedented level," Azeri President Elham Aliyev told the visiting Iranian minister. "Expansion of ties between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Azerbaijan Republic is not only in the interest of our two nations, but a move aimed at boosting regional peace, security and stability," the president said as quoted by IRNA. Aliyev called President Mohammad Khatami's state visit to Azerbaijan Republic earlier this year, in which a number of cooperation documents were signed between the two countries, quite successful and effective in boosting bilateral ties. "I am sure my upcoming visit of Iran, too, would be successful, leading to further expansion of comprehensive bilateral ties," the Azeri president said. Shamkhani for his part stressed preventing crises in the region in order to boost lasting security in Caucasus and Caspian Sea regions. Shamkhani also presented a report on defense capabilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Azeri president and called for promotion of comprehensive and dynamic defense cooperation between Iran and Azerbaijan.