Fabricated concepts in ECO communiqué on territorial claims against Armenia do not reflect Iran's position - Sobhani

Iranian Ambassador to Armenia Mehdi Sobhani has claimed that certain provisions of the communiqué adopted at the recent Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) summit, particularly those containing fabricated concepts that violate the territorial integrity of Armenia, do not reflect the official position of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In response to a question from Armenpress, the ambassador emphasized that the statement represents the views of the summit chair, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and does not necessarily express the positions of all participating countries.

"As we expressed our position regarding the Declaration of Cooperation of Islamic States recently published in Istanbul, some of the provisions in this ECO communiqué, particularly those involving fabricated territorial claims against the Republic of Armenia, are inconsistent with the principled stance of the Islamic Republic of Iran toward the friendly and neighboring country of Armenia and are not subject to approval," Sobhani said.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran continues to support the peace negotiation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan and attaches importance to the conclusion of a peace agreement with provisions mutually accepted by both sides. We have conveyed our reservations on the communiqué to the Economic Cooperation Organization in an official letter," he added.

The 17th ECO summit took place on July 3–4 in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh, and was attended by member states including Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. Following the summit, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the adoption of the final communiqué, which reportedly included another false narrative from the Azerbaijani propaganda machine regarding the so-called right of Azerbaijanis to return to the territory of Armenia.