Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (L), Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (C) and Russian President Vladimir Putin

Presidents of Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran have pledged to counter the growing global threat of terrorism in a joint declaration of a trilateral summit here in Baku on Monday.

The parties expressed their willingness to combat terrorism, extremism, transnational organized crime, illicit trafficking in arms, drugs and their precursors, as well as human trafficking and crimes in the sphere of information and communication technologies.

They have also recognized that "the unresolved conflicts in the region are a major obstacle to regional cooperation", and underlined the importance of their settlement "on the basis of principles and norms of international law."

"The parties will continue the comprehensive development of equal and mutually beneficial cooperation, and to deepen and broaden the political dialogue at various levels across the entire spectrum of issues of mutual interest," the document says.

Putin, Aliyev and Rouhani also agreed to deepen cooperation in various sectors of the economy "on the basis of equality and mutual benefit."

The three presidents also pledged to take effective measures to develop transportation and communication infrastructure in order to expand the opportunities for passenger and cargo transportation via the North-South corridor.

Baku on Monday hosted a trilateral summit of presidents of Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran. The summit was proposed by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev for talks about the issues of common interests.

Source : XINHUA