Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi sits across the table from Cuban President Miguel Diaz Canel, alongside their their delegations at Revolution Palace in Havana, Cuba, June 15, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

TEHRAN - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said Monday that for Armenia and Azerbaijan, recognizing each other's territorial integrity is an "important" step toward a peace deal.

He made the remarks in a phone call with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, according to a statement published on the Iranian president's office website.

Raisi stressed that "the security atmosphere" along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border should be replaced by an economic one as soon as possible.

He emphasized that Iran is opposed to any geopolitical change or the presence of transregional Western forces in the Caucasus, as outsiders' presence not only fails to solve any problem, but will also lead to the emergence of new ones.

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The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday that Iran will continue the diplomatic efforts to return the Iran-Azerbaijan relations to a "normal and correct" path

Raisi noted that Iran and the South Caucasus region are parts of the same history and culture, saying that his country promotes interactions and cooperation with the region.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday that Iran will continue the diplomatic efforts to return the Iran-Azerbaijan relations to a "normal and correct" path.

Nasser Kanaani made the remarks at a weekly press conference in the Iranian capital Tehran, commenting on a phone conversation between Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov on Sunday evening, according to a statement released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

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"Good" steps have been taken so far toward the resolution of certain outstanding issues between the two countries, Kanaani was quoted as saying in the statement.

In the phone call, the Iranian foreign minister said Iran and Azerbaijan can resolve the problems in bilateral relations without third parties' interference.

Bayramov, for his part, praised the Iranian foreign minister's "constructive efforts" toward resolving the existing tensions, describing his conversation with Amir-Abdollahian as "positive."