Iranian, Azerbaijani FMs discuss issues in bilateral ties over phone

Tehran, April 9 Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov discussed recent problems and misunderstandings in bilateral relations and ways to correct them during phone conversations.

According to the Iranian Foreign Ministry's website, the two ministers had "comprehensive, frank and explicit" conversations via two separate phone calls on Friday night and Saturday, during which they highlighted the necessity of mutual respect for good neighborliness and each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The two top diplomats stressed the necessity of enhancing management over their media in line with safeguarding the two nations' interests.

They also exchanged views on the recent developments in bilateral ties as well as certain regional issues.

The phone calls came after Azerbaijani declared four employees of the Iranian embassy in Baku as "persona non grata" due to activities that were "incompatible with diplomatic status."

Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said Thursday that it had summoned Iran's ambassador Seyed Abbas Mousavi to inform him that the four should leave the country within 48 hours.

Earlier in the day, Baku said it arrested six Azerbaijani nationals who it said were "recruited by Iranian secret services to destabilize the situation in the country."

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said Friday that the Azerbaijani government's move is in contradiction with the principles governing relations among neighbors, vowing "diplomatic countermeasures," according to his ministry.