The European Union has expressed gratitude to Azerbaijan for assisting European citizens in safely leaving Iran amid the ongoing crisis.
Speaking to Azerbaijani journalists, Anouar El Anouni, a spokesperson for the European External Action Service, said the land border between Iran and Azerbaijan has become one of the possible exit routes for people leaving the conflict zone.
According to El Anouni, EU citizens seeking to cross into Azerbaijan must first contact their embassies in Baku in order to obtain special permission from the Azerbaijani authorities before approaching the border.
“The EU delegation in Baku, along with member state embassies, remains in constant contact with national authorities to facilitate the border crossing for EU citizens travelling from Iran to Azerbaijan,” he said.
El Anouni also expressed appreciation to Canada for helping resolve the consular situation during the evacuation process. He noted that Canada’s consular team on the ground has actively assisted in the evacuation of both European citizens and other foreign nationals.
Responding to a question about whether EU diplomatic missions might relocate their operations from Iran to Baku, he said that such decisions would ultimately be made by the governments of individual EU member states.
Paula Pinho, a press officer for the European Commission, added that member states would also decide how long any such operations in Azerbaijan would last and in what format they would be carried out.
By Tamilla Hasanova
