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Iran Warns Against Turkish Warplanes' Visit to Azerbaijan
Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi has warned against the scheduled arrival of 10 Turkish F-16 fighter jets on Azerbaijan's soil, the official IRNA news agency reported Wednesday.
The minister issued the warning following an Azeri announcement that the Turkish warplanes will arrive in Baku on Thursday to coincide with a visit by Hussein Kivrikoglu, chief of staff of the Turkish army.
The Iranian government has raised the concern with Azeri officials over the matter and asked for explanation, Kharazi said. But Azerbaijan's assurance that the "Turkish fighter planes are not meant as a move against Iran" does not satisfy the Islamic Republic, he added.
Tensions between Iran and Azerbaijan have been running high since an Iranian warship last month threatened to fire on an Azeri oil research ship in a sector of the Caspian Sea claimed by both countries.
Kharazi warned that "we will follow the developments closely and with utmost sensitivity."
However, he expressed Iran's willingness to seek to expand friendly ties with Baku. "We expect an increase in reciprocal official visits between the representatives of the two countries and look forward to improving the condition of our nations," he added.
The Caspian Sea is estimated to contain the world's third largest reserves of oil and gas after the Persian Gulf and Siberia.
Among the five littoral states, Iran and Turkmenistan have pushed for division of the sea into five equal sectors while Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia contend that the sea floor should be divided into national sectors, which would leave Iran with the smallest slice.
Turkey also has interests in the sea, advocating a multi- billion-dollar pipeline project to carry Azeri crude oil to western markets via Georgia.
It was reported that the five nations will hold their summit meeting in October to divide the resource-rich Caspian Sea. The summit has been postponed by several times since April.
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