Armenia's President Robert Kocharian is to make an official visit to neighboring Iran on November 10-12, the Armenian embassy said Tuesday October 16. The visit was finalized in a meeting on Monday between Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Ruben Shougarian and Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi.
Shougarian, as reported in the Tehran press, praised "Iran's role in resolving regional crises" and said Yerevan would welcome Tehran's involvement in negotiations on its Nagorno-Karabakh land dispute with Azerbaijan.
Azeri President Heydar Aliyev, whose ties with Iran have been strained over rights in the energy resources-rich Caspian Sea, was himself due in Tehran on September 17, but the visit was put off after the anti-US terror attacks. Armenia is counting on a proposed 140-kilometer (85-mile) natural gas pipeline from Iran to solve its persistent energy shortages. — (AFP, Tehran)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
