Iran-Russia-Azerbaijan Summit to Focus on Regional Conflicts

A senior diplomat said the second tripartite meeting among presidents of Iran, Russia and Azerbaijan scheduled for Wednesday will focus on regional conflicts. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Deputy Foreign Minister Ebrahim Rahimpour said the International North-South Transport Corridor project, which is aimed at facilitating trilateral trade, will also be on the agenda, IRNA reported. "I believe Tehran, Moscow and Baku have great capacities in tourism, transit and trade sectors, which allow for deeper trilateral cooperation," he said. The corridor is to connect Northern Europe to Southeast Asia, serving as a bridge to connect the railroads of Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia. Rahimpour said issues related to regional conflicts, particularly the Astana peace process on the Syria crisis, as well as the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, will be other topics of trilateral discussions in Tehran. Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi said in a regular presser on Monday that cooperation against terrorism will also be discussed in the meeting. Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive in Tehran on Wednesday for a one-day stay to attend the trilateral meeting and hold talks with Iranian officials. The first such trilateral meeting was held in August 2016 in Baku where Putin and his Iranian and Azeri counterparts, Hassan Rouhani and Ilham Aliyev respectively, discussed joint economic plans and other issues.