20 July: Senior Azerbaijani official has said a visa-free travel regime proposed by Turkey in 2009 had fallen victim to Iranian pressure on Azerbaijan, prompting the last minute cancellation of the deal between Baku and Ankara (Todays Zaman).

Ali Hasanov, head of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration's Social and Political Department, told a group of Turkish reporters in Baku on Monday that Iran had threatened to cut off the critical supply line between Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic if Azerbaijan lifted visas requirements for Turks but not for Iranians.

“We do not have any concern with lifting visa requirements for Turks,” Hasanov said, adding, however, that “Iran strongly objected to that. They [Iranians] issued a threat to block the corridor linking Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan.”

source: Todays Zaman

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