Azernews.Az

Azerbaijani Foreign and Defense Ministries released a joint statement condemning Iran for a provocation and urging the Iranian state to provide an appropriate explanation, Azernews reports.

According to the statement, an Iranian military aircraft made a non-stop flight along the Azerbaijan-Iran state border from the direction of Zangilan District to Bilasuvar District and backwards on March 11, 2023, from 0944 to 1026.

It was noted that the plane flew between the two countries at a distance of 3-5 km from the state border, and in some cases over the state border.

"Contrary to the internationally accepted practice of warning the neighboring country in advance about approaching military aircraft to the state border, such a close proximity of a military aircraft of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the state border between the two countries and flying over the border line threatens the safety of civil aviation, and further deteriorates the bilateral relations," the statement said.

The statement emphasized that the flight of a military aircraft for more than half an hour near Azerbaijan's liberated territories is a provocation and unfriendly behavior towards Azerbaijan. It was also recalled that last year, the Iranian side also conducted large-scale military exercises along the Araz River near the borders of Azerbaijan.