The improvement of Azerbaijani-Iranian relations will have an overall positive effect on the situation in the South Caucasus and the Caspian Sea region. Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), stated this during Thursday’s press briefing.

"We [i.e. Russia] see great potential in the development of regional projects between the countries of the South Caucasus and their neighbors. This logic is particularly embedded in our work on the expansion of the North-South international transport corridor. 

We are committed to close collaboration with Baku and Tehran, including within the framework of the Russia-Azerbaijan-Iran dialogue format, as well as through the 3+3 consultative regional platform. Let me remind that it includes Russia, Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia.

We firmly believe that the regional players themselves should seek solutions to existing challenges and problems, without external interference. There is a corresponding positive track-record, and we should rely on it," said the Russian MFA official representative.