Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan meet to boost co-op

BAKU - Foreign ministers of Turkey, Iran and Azerbaijan on Wednesday held a meeting in Nakhchivan of Azerbaijan to boost trilateral cooperation.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and his Turkish and Iranian counterparts, Ahmet Davutoglu and Ali Akbar Salehi, discussed ways to deepen cooperation in fighting terrorism, organized crime, and drug and weapons trafficking.

The ministers also discussed possible railway projects connecting the three countries, as well as ways to simplify visa procedures.

Mammadyarov said at a post-meeting press conference that the mechanism of the trilateral meeting was very effective and the next meeting will be held in September in Turkey.

Salehi said Iran hopes to maintain peace and stability in the region and solve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict according to the norms of the international law.

He also denied having a deteriorating relationship with Azerbaijan, saying that the historical connections among Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan could not be cut off.

"We continued the discussion and agreed to hold meetings on trade, energy, tourism and transport issues. We hope that the South Caucasus region will become a region of peace," Davutoglu said at the press conference.

"In the future, meetings of such a kind may involve other countries of the region -- Armenia, Georgia and Russia," Davutoglu said.

Nagorno-Karabakh, a landlocked region in the South Caucasus and also an Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan, was trapped in turmoil since a conflict  between Azerbaijanis and Armenians broke out in 1988.