By Azernews

By Yusif Abbaszada

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev commented about Iran's anti-Azerbaijani policies and openly spoke about attacks of the Tehran regime against Baku, calling a spade a spade, Azernews reports.

First, he declared that our compatriots on the other bank of the Araz River are an integral part of the Azerbaijani nation. In his previous speeches, he called them our “40m-strong compatriots”, and now by calling them “Azerbaijanis living in Iran,” he further specified his point.

Second, by saying “we will do our best to protect Azerbaijanis in Iran,” he announced the Southern Azerbaijani direction in Azerbaijan’s foreign policy, that is, Baku is undertaking the protection of Azerbaijanis in the south.

Third, he also commented on steps to be taken to protect our compatriots. Baku will support the struggle of our compatriots in the south for securing the right to study in their mother tongue.

The overall conclusion of what the president said in his speech boils down to the following. The issue is not episodial, and the possible normalization of the relations with Tehran will not put the protection of the rights of our compatriots in the south on the back burner, on the contrary, official Baku may include the rights of our compatriots to study in their mother tongue as one of the main points in the relations with Iran from now on.