In recent years, the meeting of the Presidents of Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia is regular and traditional. This geopolitical "Trio" was founded in Baku. All three states are also leading countries in the region. Russia is a powerful country with a decisive voice in the world affairs. Iran is a country with the historical tradition of statehood. Azerbaijan's cooperation with these countries speaks about the role of Baku in the region. The geopolitical trio of Azerbaijan-Iran-Russia is key in the region. Three neighboring countries discuss a wide range of issues and contribute to the development of relationships.
In the Tripartite Declaration, adopted at the Baku Summit of the three states in August 2016 the following areas of regional cooperation were identified
• Strengthening interstate relations;
• Settlement of regional conflicts;
• Fighting terrorism, extremism, transnational crime;
• Development of cooperation in the field of economics, energy, transport, infrastructure, culture, tourism, business;
• Support for projects of the development of the North-South transport corridor.
The parties agreed to raise cooperation to a new level in such important areas as economy, culture, energy, transport, tourism and education. A joint struggle against terrorism and extremism is carried out, cooperation is expanded in various fields, new energy projects and transport corridor North-South are being implemented, , mutually beneficial cooperation is strengthened in other areas.
It is necessary to emphasize that the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev was the initiator of these meetings. The format of tripartite cooperation is an important aspect of consistent foreign policy held by President Ilham Aliyev. The Russian-Iranian-Azerbaijani trilateral cooperation format should be considered as a manifestation of successful cooperation. Discussions held in previous years in the formats of Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey, Azerbaijan-Iran-Turkey, Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan, are now held in Russian-Azerbaijani-Iranian format. Thus, on the initiative of the Azerbaijani leader, a new and effective form of cooperation in the region is approved.
Russian President V. Putin believes that the Summits of the Presidents of Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia may have serious geopolitical consequences. The content of trilateral dialogue fully confirms this conclusion. The President of Azerbaijan stresses that the format of tripartite cooperation Azerbaijan-Russia-Iran has great potential. This important new geopolitical initiative is one of the important steps in providing peace, security and stability in the region.
The idea of tripartite cooperation is fully reflected in these words. The main goal here is to strengthen stability and protection against possible risks by developing cooperation in the region. The problem is that in geopolitical areas adjacent to the South Caucasus, risks are growing. It is no secret that some circles are interested in distributing the "wave of uncertainty." Such devastating trends can be avoided only by close cooperation, which is one of the important results of the dialogue. There is no doubt that the leaders of three countries are ready to take serious steps in this direction.
Against this background, the resolution of conflicts in the region is of particular interest. The parties recognize that unresolved regional conflicts are a serious obstacle to the development of cooperation, and emphasize the importance of their settlement through the speedy coordination of the principles and norms of international law.
Another important issue is the position of three countries in the status of the Caspian Sea. The parties consider the Caspian Sea - the sea of peace, friendship, security and cooperation. If there are unsolved problems on Caspian, then external forces can use them to create uncertainties. That is why there is a great confidence that the tripartite cooperation between Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran will have positive geopolitical consequences for the entire Caspian-Caucasus region. The specific content of this cooperation is the agreements achieved in the economic, energy, transport and information spheres. Against the background of the above problems, the struggle is very important against terrorism, extremism, transnational organized crime, illegal turnover of weapons and drugs, human trafficking, etc. The listed problems at the present stage present a serious threat to the security of all states. Agreement of Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran on joint struggle with these manifestations shows that there is a real chance to prevent systemic threats of various kinds.
The interests of Iran and Russia do not always coincide with the interests of the United States in this region, and in many cases help to create a shield before American expansion and balance the positions of Moscow and Tehran. Currently, the results of meetings in a trilateral format against the background of global geopolitical and geo-economic realities are very important. This factor allows countries to further strengthen their positions. For example,
Azerbaijan is becoming increasingly influential in the region. Russia and Iran attach great importance to cooperation with Azerbaijan. RUSSIAN REGNUM portal writes that Azerbaijan plays a special role in the development of Russian-Iranian relations. This shows that the system of relations in the triangle Moscow-Baku-Tehran is stable. It is also clear that the parties identified their long-term joint participation. Of course, we are talking about areas such as energy, transportation, the development of logistics infrastructure in the North-South corridor, which can form a new integration system in the geographically unique region. The appearance of the transport corridor "Russia-Persian Bay" is particularly relevant. Trade and economic cooperation between the three countries is expanding, and this factor "annoys" many in the West.
Moscow and Tehran were subjected to various sanctions from the United States and their Western partners. The United States is trying to make Baku join these sanctions. But such pressure did not give any results.
One of the key topics of the trilateral dialogue is the development of new transport corridors, the creation of a common energy belt and access to a silk path through the North-South project. The expected volume of transportation on the site of the International Transport Corridor of the North-South through Azerbaijan is 3 million tons at the first stage, 5-8 million tons - at the second stage and 15 million tons - at the third stage. Such a dynamic is in the interests of all three states.
Obviously, there is a stable political situation in the region to implement such projects. The focus will be on the disclosure of common interests for Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan, the ability to conduct consistent international and regional policies, the geopolitical future "Trio", its potential to the formation of a regional alliance. It depends on whether Baku will be able to continue balancing not only between Moscow and Tehran, but also the West. In this context, the key role of Azerbaijan is obvious. The format of tripartite cooperation demonstrates the importance of Azerbaijan for the region. Azerbaijan more and more successfully plays its unifying role in the region.
By Alimusa Ibrahimov
