Iran on Wednesday termed as “provocative” and “untrue” US accusations that the Islamic republic had violated Azeri airspace, reported the official Iranian news agency, IRNA.
An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hamid-Reza Asefi, said the “interference of countries outside the Caspian region in the affairs of the Caspian Sea littoral states not only hinders settlement of disputes in the sea, but also makes that process even more complicated,” IRNA reported.
“The Islamic Republic,” he said, “strongly maintains that the littoral states, without relying on foreign parties, can cooperate with one another to settle their disputes through negotiation in such a way as to guarantee their own interests.”
Asefi said Iran, along with other littoral states, would try to settle the Caspian Sea disputes through continued negotiations within a normal course and by adopting “good will” measures.
Azeri television earlier this month claimed that an Iranian air force reconnaissance plane violated Azerbaijan's airspace over the Caspian Sea.
However, Iran immediately rejected the claims, claiming the plane had been on routine patrol over Iranian territorial waters.
US State Department Spokesman Philipe Reeker on Tuesday said Iran's reported violation of the Azeri airspace had been confirmed, adding that such actions were “provocative, and counterproductive to efforts to achieve a peaceful resolution of Caspian boundary disputes.”
The US has long branded Iran a "rogue state" and sought ways to impose broad economic sanctions on the Islamic republic – Albawaba.com
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