Azerbaijani foreign minister calls for stability in Iran+

TOKYO, June 19 Kyodo -
Visiting Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov called Friday for
stability in Iran where there has been turmoil in the wake of a presidential
election, while stressing diplomatic efforts to address Iran's nuclear issues.

''We are very strongly interested that Iranian people all together will come to
some conclusion in this situation that the stability will return back to
Iran,'' the minister told an interview with Kyodo News in Tokyo, noting that a
''stable and prosperous Iran'' is important to adjacent Azerbaijan.
Iran's presidential election last Friday, in which Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
officially won a second term, has sparked protests from supporters of defeated
candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, who alleges irregularities in the election.
On Iran's disputed nuclear program, the minister said that ''any country, a
member state of United Nations, has the right to develop a nuclear program''
for peaceful purposes in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy
Agency.
He said the issue should be addressed ''only by diplomatic means'' rather than
by stepping up pressure.
The remarks indicate that the oil-producing South Caucasus country is keen to
maintain Iran's stability for its own security.
Referring to the North Korean nuclear issue, about which Japan is showing
strong concern, the minister offered reassurances that Azerbaijan, as a U.N.
member state, ''is going to implement'' the recent U.N. Security Council
resolution adopted last Friday in response to Pyongyang's nuclear test in May.
The resolution imposes a broad range of additional sanctions on North Korea.
Meanwhile, Mammadyarov remained ambiguous on whether Azerbaijan will join the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
''Everything depends how the developments will go. But today it's not part of
our aspirations of Azerbaijan,'' he said.
Mammadyarov is making a six-day visit to Japan that began Tuesday, during which
he has met with his Japanese counterpart, Hirofumi Nakasone, and Japanese Prime
Minister Taro Aso.
==Kyodo