President Hassan Rouhani made the remark in a joint press conference with his Russian and Azeri counterparts following a trilateral summit between the three presidents, adding "the trilateral summit is based on the sense of friendship and neighborhood of the three countries, and this friendship, closeness and geographical and cultural affinity, has made us more determined to make better use of our existing capacities.”
Referring to the decisions made at the Baku-Tehran summits, including in the area of transit between the three countries and the Eurasian region, Rouhani said: "within the framework of this transit route, we will connect north to south, and our plan is to connect Bandar Abbas to Helsinki, connecting Asia to Europe and our route is through Azerbaijan, Russia and Eastern and Northern Europe.”
Rouhani described energy as another potential for deepening ties between the three countries, saying "Iran, Russia and Azerbaijan, with huge reserves of oil and gas and the good position in the region and the world, should have their own technological cooperation for the production and extraction of oil and gas, as well as joint investments in energy and other fields.”
The president also announced a joint plan to connect the three countries' electricity networks.
The third round of trilateral summit of the presidents of Iran, Russia and Azerbaijan will be hosted by Moscow next year, the president added.
Rouhani then highlighted closer relations of the three countries in the stability and security of the region, in particular the fight against terrorism.
"It is important for Iran and Russia to cooperate in the establishment of stability and security, and in the fight against terrorism, especially in Syria, and the tripartite cooperation of Iran, Turkey and Russia, which is being pursued in Astana," he added.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, for his part, deemed the trilateral negotiations successful, saying "relations between the three countries are being successfully pursued and we expect a good prospect for the future of this cooperation.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin also expressed satisfaction with the talks between Iranian, Russian and Azerbaijani presidents, and said "I am confident that these cordial and transparent meetings will bring about important results and benefits for our nations.”
Referring to the talks with President Rouhani on regional security, he also said that they discussed issues related to Iran nuclear deal and the Syrian crisis; "our cooperation with Iran, especially in the Syrian issue, is very productive, and the fight against terrorism in Syria is progressing well through our cooperation with Iran and Turkey within the framework of Astana peace talks.”
MS