The Third Trilateral Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey was held with the participation of Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan and Mr. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran upon the invitation of Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey on 14 March 2014 in Van, Turkey.

Within the context of the meeting, views were exchanged on the possibility of developing regional cooperation on issues of common interest to all three countries and reviewing and following-up the resolutions adopted at the meetings held in Urmia and Nakhichevan.

At the Van Statement which was adopted at the conclusion of the meeting, Foreign Ministers agreed on continuing close consultations on regional and global issues of common interests at different levels and platforms and within the framework of international and regional organizations with a view to enhancing regional and international peace, security and stability. In this framework, they stressed their commitment to principles of international law, including in particular, respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, inviolability of internationally recognized borders and peaceful settlement of all disputes.

Foreign Ministers also reiterated their firm commitment to strengthen their cooperation in the fight against terrorism and extremism in all their forms and manifestations, transnational organized crime, narcotics, arms and human trafficking and migrant smuggling.

During the meeting, The Trilateral Sectoral Cooperation Action Plan for 2014-2016 was adopted and thee coordination role of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs for its implementation was underlined.

Speaking at the joint press conference held after the meeting, Foreign Minister Davutoğlu pointed out that in international arena, a very dynamic period was passed through and regional problems, including those in South Caucasus and Middle East were discussed. Foreign Minister Davutoğlu said that at the meeting, also various issues such as Ukraine, final phase arrived at negotiations between P5+1 and Iran and Cyprus negotiations were reviewed and added “We have the strong will to make this region a place of peace, welfare and prosperity without any ethnic and sectarian discrimination”.

Joint statement adopted at the conclusion of the Meeting