Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian made statements for media representatives.

Below are the statements of the leaders of the two countries.

Nikol Pashinyan: “Honorable President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Your Excellency Mr. Pezeshkian, Honorable representatives of the governments of Armenia and Iran, Honorable guests,

First of all, I would like to warmly welcome to the capital of Armenia, Yerevan, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mr. Masoud Pezeshkian, who is visiting the Republic of Armenia for the first time. The active and constructive dialogue established between our governments is one of the guarantees of the stable development of brotherly relations between Armenia and Iran. I am confident that President Pezeshkian’s visit will give a new impetus and quality to the friendly relations between Armenia and Iran.

Undoubtedly, the basis of the current strong and mutually reliable partnership between Armenia and Iran is the strong friendship between the peoples of Armenia and Iran, which has stood the test of time with honor and, in some sense, also interconnected the historical path of our two peoples. We both agreed that the time has come to carry out work to elevate the relations of our countries to the level of strategic partnership.

Dear guests,

With President Pezeshkian, we discussed in detail the issues of regional peace and the unblocking of economic infrastructure, which are among the key priorities of our Government. The ideas of the Republic of Armenia on this issue are summarized in the “Crossroads of Peace” project, which has been repeatedly welcomed at a high level by representatives of friendly Iran.

I would like to emphasize that the Republic of Armenia and the entire Armenian people highly appreciate the clear position of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability of the borders of the Republic of Armenia. For Armenia and Iran, the inviolability of international borders and uninterrupted communication between our states are of vital importance.

In the context of the above, I presented to Mr. President the details of the Joint Declaration signed on August 8, as well as the initialed agreement “On the Establishment of Peace and Interstate Relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan”. This process is aimed at opening up great prospects for the economic development of the entire region.

I am pleased and grateful to President Pezeshkian for his objective assessment of these agreements. One of our key agreements with Azerbaijan is the reopening of communication routes in the region, with full mutual respect for the sovereignty, jurisdiction and territorial integrity of the countries. In practice, this will open new doors for railway cooperation between Armenia and Iran, including through the Nakhchivan-Julfa railway line, which will mean Iran’s railway access to Armenia and, ultimately, to the Black Sea. This is fully consistent with the “Crossroads of Peace” project. We are confident that the unblocking of regional infrastructure should serve to promote dialogue between our various partners.

I would like to emphasize once again that the communication routes passing through Armenia will be under the exclusive jurisdiction of Armenia, and security will be ensured by Armenia and not by any third country.

Dear partners,

We have set a strategic goal to increase the volume of bilateral trade with Iran, first to one and then to three billion US dollars. In fact, today we can state that we have actually approached the one billion mark and are consistently working towards achieving the next target. In this sense, the free trade agreement between the EAEU member states and Iran, which has entered into force, provides new opportunities for businessmen of both countries.

In parallel with the active political dialogue, our cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran covers many other areas: economy, infrastructure, energy, healthcare, culture, environment, etc., in each of which we define new horizons year after year.

A number of existing infrastructure projects between Armenia and Iran have already entered the practical stage, and I must note that these projects are of strategic importance for Armenia.

One of these projects of strategic importance is the 32-kilometer Kajaran-Agarak road section, the construction of which the Armenian side has entrusted to an Iranian company. I am confident that the 32-kilometer road will be commissioned within the specified period, and my colleague and I will have the opportunity to celebrate another success of our two states. Taking into account the increasing volume of transportation between our states, we have reached an agreement on the construction of a second bridge on the Armenia-Iran border.

The most important ongoing project in the energy sector is the third Armenia-Iran power transmission line. We also discussed this issue with my esteemed colleague and we have a clear understanding that the project should be completed as soon as possible. Thanks to the operation of the third line, Armenia will be able to export more electricity to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Your Excellency, Honorable Mr. Pezeshkian,

In conclusion, I must reiterate that Armenia attaches great importance to its strategic relations with Iran. I am confident that, thanks to the continuous active efforts of our governments, we will jointly implement new programs for the benefit of our friendly peoples and states.

Thank you."

Masoud Pezeshkian: "First of all, I would like to thank the Government of Armenia, esteemed Mr. Pashinyan, and the people for the warm welcome.

Armenia is one of our important neighbors, and history testifies to the deep roots of our relations. The presence of the Armenian community in Iran, especially in the border areas, speaks of our civilizational and cultural commonalities, as well as the strong ties of friendship on both sides of the border. Our border has been a bridge of friendship and communication between peoples for the past years.

I would like to emphasize that we wish peace and tranquility to our neighbors, especially for our neighboring state of Armenia. And we believe that integration, as well as friendship, are the best factors for maintaining security, as well as moving towards development.

We have always defended the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia, and this is our policy. And we are against the use of any force in the region. We believe that leadership in the region should be Caucasian, and transferring problems outside the region to extra-regional powers will further complicate the situation in the region.

Peace in the Caucasus is a strategic priority of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and we support peace negotiations between the Republic of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The position of the Islamic Republic of Iran has been about the invariability of borders in the region, in the Caucasus, and we believe that these changes can become a cause of geopolitical rivalry.

The Islamic Republic of Iran wants to develop its relations with Armenia in all areas and bring them to a strategic level.

We had excellent discussions with esteemed Prime Minister. Documents were signed today, and as a result, the importance of mutual visits was also emphasized. We have a great will to develop the level of cooperation, especially in the economic sphere. The two countries have potential for cooperation in various fields, including transport, energy, engineering and technical services, culture, healthcare and pharmaceuticals.

Iran and Armenia have common interests in activating the Persian Gulf-Black Sea corridor. The development of the transit railway, land and sea routes will contribute to the development of trade between the two countries, the creation of common free economic zones. These are considered areas of cooperation between our two countries, around which we had a constructive dialogue.

And we also emphasized the issue of border security.

I once again express my gratitude for the warm welcome. I wish the people of Armenia good health and happiness. I also wish to host the Prime Minister in Iran in the near future."