Iranupdated 53m ago2 min read
Masoud Pezeshkian Meets Nikol Pashinyan in Turkmenistan to Expand Iran-Armenia Ties
Iran and Armenia discuss expanding bilateral cooperation on the CIS summit sidelines in Turkmenistan. Iran and Armenia sign MoU to expand cooperation in sports and youth affairs.
11 outlets told this the same way.
Pezeshkian Meets Pashinyan
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Turkmenistan on Friday to discuss bilateral ties on the sidelines of a Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit and a Caspian Sea environmental summit. The Armenian prime minister’s office said the two leaders stressed the importance of intensive high-level contacts and said they contribute to the steady development and expansion of bilateral relations. Pashinyan highlighted the agenda for cooperation between Yerevan and Tehran, noting that Iranian companies are involved in implementing strategic projects in Armenia.
Pezeshkian urged stepped-up ties with Armenia in all fields, saying there were many areas for cooperation between Iran and Armenia and expressing hope that relations between the two countries would further expand in all fields. The Iranian president also stressed the importance of coordination, cooperation and continued communication between the two countries, saying that the more they increased their coordination and cooperation, the more opportunities would be created to strengthen mutual trust, deepen mutual understanding and consolidate bilateral relations.
CIS+1 and Connectivity
Pezeshkian told the CIS summit in Turkmenistan that Iran can play a key role in strengthening the region’s economic and connectivity resilience as a strategic route linking Central Asia and Eurasia to open waters. Pezeshkian proposed establishing a “CIS+1” cooperation framework with Iran’s participation to expand joint efforts in transit, energy, trade, investment, technology, the environment, tourism, and scientific and cultural exchanges. The CIS summit was held at Turkmenistan’s Avaza national tourism zone, and Iran had been invited with President Pezeshkian heading an Iranian delegation.
The Iranian president also emphasized that regional countries’ shared interests lie in connecting routes rather than competing with one another, and he highlighted Iran’s southern ports on the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, particularly Chabahar. Pezeshkian said the need to counter war, crises, external pressures, and disruptions to economic and transport routes required stronger cooperation based on trust and shared interests rather than isolation, destructive competition, and threats.
Foreign Ministers and MoU
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan held phone talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday night to discuss follow-up on bilateral issues and the latest regional developments. WANA said Mirzoyan spoke by phone with Araghchi on Thursday night, October 8, after meeting Araghchi and other Iranian officials in Tehran on Monday, October 5. In Yerevan, Iran and Armenia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to expand bilateral cooperation in the fields of sports and youth affairs.
ISNA said the agreement was signed in Yerevan on Thursday by Iranian Minister of Sports and Youth Ahmad Donamali and Armenian Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan. ISNA reported that Donamali highlighted key areas for collaboration, including interactions between national and club teams, organizing joint training camps and competitions, exchanging coaches and referees, and utilizing the scientific and educational capacities of both nations.