Iranian, Azerbaijani FMs hold phone talk on bilateral ties

TEHRAN, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov on Saturday held a phone talk to exchange views on bilateral relations and relevant issues.

The two top diplomats agreed that the improvement in bilateral ties has been satisfactory lately, according to a statement published by the Iranian Foreign Ministry's website.

Amir-Abdollahian underlined the necessity to improve regional mechanisms for ensuring peace and convergence in the region.

They called for collective efforts to enhance such mechanisms and dialogue without transregional interference, and the key role that Tehran and Baku could play in this regard.

Iran and Azerbaijan had been in a diplomatic row after the latter shut down its embassy in the Iranian capital of Tehran following an armed attack on the mission on Jan. 27 that killed a staff member and injured two others.

Nevertheless, Iran has been stepping up diplomatic efforts to restore relations with Azerbaijan over the past months, including launching a probe into the deadly attack.