Baku concerned about activities of Iranian companies on occupied territories

Ali Hasanov made the remarks at the meeting with Minister of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare Ali Rabiei, who is on a visit in the country, answering the question about the activities of Iranian businessmen on the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

He said that the Azerbaijani and Iranian sides try to eliminate these facts.

The Iranian minister, in turn, said that Iranian state companies do not operate on the occupied Azerbaijani territories. It is possible that private companies are operating there, but the state does not make any investment there, said Rabiei.

The bilateral agreement between the countries prohibits Iranian companies to operate on the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, according to the Ambassador of Iran to Azerbaijan Mohsen Pak Ayeen. If such a case is detected, Iran will take the necessary measures, he said.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.