TEHRAN: Armenia and Azerbaijan joined talks Monday in Tehran seeking to ease tensions between the arch foes, which soared with Baku鈥檚 lightning offensive to retake the long-disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
However, the same day as the meeting, Azerbaijan announced the start of joint military drills with its ally Turkiye near the border with Armenia just weeks after Baku seized Karabakh from pro-Yerevan separatists.
At the meeting in the Iranian capital 鈥� which also included foreign ministers from Turkiye, Russia and Iran 鈥� the envoys noted a push for peace in the Caucasus.
鈥淭his meeting... can be the cornerstone of the path toward establishing peace and ending challenges in the South Caucasus with the participation of regional players and neighbors,鈥� said Iran鈥檚 Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
The talks are seen as Moscow鈥檚 attempt to reduce growing Western influence in the Caucasus 鈥� a region it has long considered as its backyard.
According to Moscow鈥檚 original plan, the 鈥�3+3 format鈥� was meant to also include Georgia. But Tbilisi, which aspires to join the EU and NATO, has rejected the proposal.
Since Moscow brokered a 2020 cease-fire between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the European Union and United States have stepped up their own efforts to mediate a peace agreement between the two sides.
Russia, the traditional power-broker in the region, has seen its role diminished since it invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Ahead of the talks, Azerbaijan鈥檚 defense ministry said Monday it had begun joint drills with its ally Turkiye near the border with Armenia 鈥� weeks after Baku seized the long-disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region from pro-Yerevan separatists.
Azerbaijan last month took control of the enclave in a 24-hour military operation that ended decades of Armenian separatist rule.
The ministry said 鈥渦p to 3,000鈥� troops would take part in the tactical drills held in the capital Baku, the Nakhichevan exclave between Iran and Armenia, as well as territories retaken from Armenian separatists.
The exercises 鈥� dubbed 鈥淢ustafa Kemal Ataturk 2023鈥� 鈥� involve dozens of artillery weapons and aviation.
Baku said they were aimed at 鈥渆nsuring combat interoperability鈥� between the allies.
Tensions are running high between Armenia and Azerbaijan, a month after Baku鈥檚 lightning offensive.
Yerevan fears that energy-rich Baku may seek to press its advantage 鈥� with the help of Ankara 鈥� to forcibly connect its Nakhichevan exclave with Azerbaijan proper by capturing lands in southern Armenia, along the Iranian border.
Iran opposes the idea of a so-called Zangezur corridor, as it would create a direct land link between Azerbaijan and Tehran鈥檚 historic rival Turkiye.
Armenia said it is ready to reopen transport communications between mainland Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan via its territory under condition that its sovereignty over the area is not questioned.
Baku has denied having any territorial claims over Armenia.
Karabakh, internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan and for decades home to a majority Armenian population, was at the center of two wars between Yerevan and Baku 鈥� in 2020 and in the early 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
After a months-long blockade of the region, Azerbaijan launched a lightning offensive against Armenian separatist forces on September 19, 2023.
After less than a day of fighting, separatist authorities agreed to lay down arms and reintegrate with Azerbaijan.
Almost all of Nagorno-Karabakh鈥檚 ethnic Armenian population 鈥� some 100,000 people 鈥� fled for Armenia after the offensive, sparking a refugee crisis.